A new electric vehicle mileage cost calculator has been created by the Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) to help with accurate reimbursement of company car drivers.

The calculator shows pence per mile costs for more than 70 models, comparing a variety of home and public charging tariffs in a variety of weather conditions against the current Advisory Electricity Rate (AER)

It shows potential pence per mile costs for more than 70 models, comparing a variety of home and public charging tariffs in a variety of weather conditions against HMRC’s current nine pence per mile Advisory Electricity Rate (AER) rate.

Paul Hollick, chair at the AFP, said: “This answers a very real need from fleets for information about real-world EV charging cost performance, given the variance that exists between what is being paid for electricity and how efficiency changes at different temperatures.

“We expect members to choose to use the information in several ways. The first is simply to look at the mileage costs of different EVs and use the figures to inform future decision making, especially which models should be included on choice lists.

“Secondly, it should also support arguments to encourage more home charging and less use of public facilities, showing just how much this impacts on costs on a per vehicle basis.

“Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it will help to enable more accurate reimbursement of drivers for charging. While the increased nine pence per mile AER rate is an improvement, the calculator does show conclusively how it easy it is for this figure to be exceeded in any number of circumstances. We already have several AFP members who are paying substantially more that AER in order to reimburse employees fairly.”

The calculator has been created by AFP member David Watts of VWFS Fleet and plans are underway to make the data it produces widely available across the membership body.

Hollick said: “This is a good example of how the huge expertise that is available within the AFP can help to create new and innovative tools that immediately help to improve fleet management best practice.”

David Watts added: “Having been instrumental in raising the issue of the Advisory Electricity Rate (AER) and its appropriateness from a fleet perspective, back in 2020 (when it was £0.04), it was good to explore this further with the AFP.

“The exercise demonstrated the significant variance in energy consumption across the EV range, coupled with the huge variance in energy costs, depending where and when you charge up – from home and off-peak, all the way through to ultra-rapid charging – together with seasonal variations. This insight was then compared with the HMRC’s AER business mileage reimbursement to develop a more effective tool to support accurate EV charging reimbursements.

“Importantly, the new tool will enable fleet managers to more accurately calculate fleet charging costs, ensuring reimbursement strategies are fair for drivers, incentivising the switch to EVs in line with the Government’s wider sustainability agenda.”