The accelerating awareness of environmental issues will undoubtedly have an impact on market trends, while for some time now, rental companies have been seeing the emergence of more rational and diversified choices when it comes to mobility. " These choices reflect our customers' growing flexibility in terms of price and type of trip. Business travel also takes into account the flexibility of timetables and the need to be able to adapt to changing circumstances. the specific nature of the routes, whether or not they are covered by the train" says Pascale Roque. The current cost of fuel, which exceeds €2 per litre at the pump, may also encourage lessees to opt more for electric, hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles. " Both the economic aspect and the company's CSR policy are converging to boost the use of green vehicles at Europcar." says Cédric Douls, Europcar's Marketing and Sales Director.
Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles now account for between 15% and 20% of the short-term rental fleet in order to comply with the Mobility Orientation Law (LOM), which requires them - like companies with fleets of more than 100 vehicles - to have 10% of vehicles emitting less than 60 grams of CO2/km. This figure will have to rise to 20 % by 1 January 2024, then 35 % in 2027 and 50% in 2030.
Fear of breakdowns with electric cars
But the choice of powertrain depends above all on the route to be covered, even if some leasers take the opportunity to test the latest manufacturers' products. If they drive less than 60 or even 100 km, they are more likely to opt for an electric car. For longer journeys, and if they're criss-crossing France for several days at a time, they'll prefer a combustion-powered vehicle in order to not be dependent on electric charging stationsThere are not enough of them in France. However, business travellers will be less reluctant if they have charging points at their company or home.
" The government needs to put its money where its mouth is, because we need to increase the number of electric charging points in France, particularly fast-charging ones." says Guirec Grand-Clément. As part of its ecological transition policy, The government has set itself the ambitious target of 100,000 charging points. distributed throughout the country by the end of 2022, compared with around 60,000 at present. Although this target is unlikely to be reached, all motorway petrol stations will be equipped by the end of the year.
" A specific vehicle and engine for every need" says Cédric Douls. To encourage the use of electric vehicles and dispel any preconceptions about range - which, however, is becoming increasingly important on the latest models, with between 430 and 600 km claimed - hire companies sometimes offer small benefits, such as free recharging. These incentives are necessary for hire companies, because the turnover rate for these electric vehicles is much lower than that of internal combustion vehicles, even though their purchase price is higher. " To support this use, companies should be able to include electric vehicle leasing in their reporting under the LOM law, so that this item contributes to improving their annual carbon footprint, which is not the case today. We hope to see progress on this issue as part of the forthcoming negotiations with the new government." adds Guirec Grand-Clément.
