The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has issued a call for fleet data to support its work on constructing a national kerbside electric vehicle charging map.

The first version of the AFP’s map on where UK kerbside charging is needed is expected to be ready by the end of Q1

It’s already working to collate geographical information on around 160,000 potential and existing drivers, and has now opened up the process to all fleet operators. This will guide future provision of kerbside charging with national and local government, as well as charging and electricity providers.

The call is open to all organisations, whether they run a dozen vehicles or thousands, and asks for locations of their current and expected demand for kerbside charging facilities. All they have to do is visit https://ev-hub.theafp.co.uk/ev-kerbside-charging/ to flag their interest and a member of the industry body will call them to discuss how the process works.

All data provided will be anonymised by the AFP, so as not to breach GDPR regulations, and the first version of the map is expected to be ready by the end of Q1.

Paul Hollick, AFP chair, said the whole subject of charging had created more interest than any other subject or campaign that the AFP has been involved in.

“Every day we are hearing from fleets, especially van fleets, that want to speed up the electrification of their operations but are being hampered by the problem of charging for drivers who do not have off-road parking or any other access to a charger.

“This is generally thought to be about 40% of drivers across all fleets but, when it comes to light commercial vehicles, we believe the figure to be nearer 70%. That means good availability of kerbside charging is essential if van electrification is going to be a success.”

To have your say in the AFP call for data, click here.