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As the fleet environment changes and evolves, our white papers arm the Fleet Manager with the knowledge to future proof their fleet.

Chinese Battery Electric Vehicle Power

This Venson Automotive Solutions white paper explores the
greatest disruptive force in global manufacturing: Chinese
battery electric vehicle (BEV) power.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT), 314,687 new BEVs were registered in the UK in 2023, an increase of almost 50,000 on the previous year. However, their annual market share dipped very slightly from 16.6% in 2022 to 16.5% last year, leading to accusations of stalling progress. The direction of travel seems clear though. We’re a world away from the rather pitiful 1.4% of 2017, and the SMMT emphasises that this electrification has been “driven entirely by fleet investment”, propelled by “compelling tax incentives”. SMMT Chief Executive, Mike Hawes, said: “With vehicle supply challenges fading, the new car market is building back with the best year since the pandemic. Energised by fleet investment,
particularly in the latest EVs, the challenge for 2024 is to deliver a green recovery.” Within this battery electric revolution is a
fascinating and far-reaching new megatrend: Chinese BEVs have achieved incredibly high penetration, described variously in the UK
media as a “flood”, “influx” and “invasion”. We call it Chinese BEV power, a twist on the nineteenth century British sea power.

This Venson white paper will introduce you to the biggest and best Chinese BEV brands, profile key models, and predict the likely implications for UK fleets and the wider automotive industry.

The Journey Towards Full Driving Automation

Driverless cars promise to transform fleet operations, with the UK becoming a world leader in an intelligent mobility market worth £900bn. That was the UK government expectation for 2025, as detailed in our 2016 Autonomous Vehicles (AV) white paper. Has this ambitious prediction stood the test of time? Well, huge progress has certainly been made, tempered by a healthy dose of reality.

Using the Gartner Hype Cycle, the ‘Peak of Inflated Expectations’ was 2018/19, when General Motors president Daniel Ammann said that autonomous vehicles represented “the biggest business opportunity since the creation of the internet”, and Elon Musk felt “very confident” that Tesla owners would be sending their cars out as robotaxis the following year. The ‘Trough of Disillusionment’ followed when such exorbitant claims failed to materialise. There are welcome signs now though that we’re entering the ‘Slope of Enlightenment’, with better-funded pilots, more mature products and the benefits of self-driving becoming increasingly well publicised and accepted. So, the question is self-driving: Are we nearly there yet?

The Road To Tomorrow Starts Today

It’s no secret that conventional fossil fuels are nearing their expiration date. For the past few decades, supply, sustainability, and pollution have been among the hottest topics for industry, politics and just about everything in between. Conversely, over the past couple of years especially, the importance of transport has never been more obvious, with global Covid-19
responses making daily headlines. Closer to home, the UK is tightly gripped by a shortage of HGV drivers, which is having ripple effects across all links in the national supply chain.

As we move towards the Government’s ban on new petrol/diesel car & van registrations deadline of 2030, with personal and business transport so heavily reliant on conventional fossil fuels like diesel, where do we go from here?

On The Road To Hydrogen

With eight years to go until the UK government’s planned end to the sale of petrol- and diesel-powered vehicles takes effect, the transition away from internal combustion engines (ICE) towards alternative methods of propulsion is well underway. In a comparatively short space of time, consumers have begun to embrace electric vehicles (EV) as a mainstream choice for new vehicle purchases, a move which has seen a relatively nascent technology claim a 6.6% market share after just a decade. However, while EVs are becoming an increasingly popular choice for both private buyers and light commercial fleets alike, there is another branch of propulsion technology of equal potential which has until recently been largely overlooked – hydrogen power.

This white paper aims to give you a thorough introduction to hydrogen powered vehicles. An overview of the technology, its history and its current applications will be covered, as will both the potential areas for growth and drawbacks to its use. It aims to provide a reasonable knowledge base from which to objectively consider the use of hydrogen powered vehicles either now, or in the future as part of a future fleet strategy.

Living With Your Electric Vehicle

This Venson White Paper aims to help you get electric vehicles into your fleet by understanding what they are like to live with on a day-to-day basis, as well as detailing the good and the more challenging elements of EV ownership. We hope you find it interesting and informative.

Operating Commercial Vehicles Beyond 3.5t GVW11

Freedom of movement. It’s one of the constitutions that makes the world go around, but it’s how we do this that has now found itself coming under scrutiny more than ever. These are unprecedented times of change for the transport industry and Venson is here to help businesses extract the most from their vehicle fleets to keep the wheels of business turning.

Tyres: From Formula Motorsport To Fleet

Fleet decision-makers and company car and van drivers can spend hours looking for, test driving and ultimately speccing their next vehicle. However, it is almost a racing certainty that in searching out the very latest technology and available ‘bells and whistles’ the one feature they probably ignore is tyres.

Take A Deep Breath. The Latest On Clean Air Zones - Update

Clean Air Zones are under consideration in towns and cities across the UK in response to Government and local authority concerns on high levels – sometimes illegally high levels – of air pollution.

The first Clean Air Zone impacting on cars and vans/light goods vehicles was introduced in London on April 8, 2019.

Managing The Road Ahead: Company Car Tax

Fleets have been treading water for more than two years as they waited for the Government to announce changes to company car benefit-in-kind tax rates effective from April 6, 2020.

The Government has now confirmed its approach to company car benefit-in-kind tax for the three-years ending 2022/23 and there is a clear incentive for fleets and company car drivers to ‘plug-in’.

Whether choosing a 100% electric car or a plug-in hybrid petrol or diesel electric car with carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of 50g/km or below there are significant benefit-in-kind tax advantages designed to support the Government’s pursuit of its ‘Road to Zero Strategy’.

Published last year, the Strategy set 2040 as the phase out deadline for the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans on the road to a Government target of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Plug-in Vehicle Recharging. The Electric Future

The Government, motor manufacturers and vehicle charge point providers are collectively investing billions of pounds in delivering a ‘plug-in future’ for the UK.

The Government is using the motoring tax regime to encourage the uptake of ultra-low and zero emission vehicles and is giving financial support through grants for plug-in cars and vans and home and workplace vehicle charge points – as well as cash to local authorities to install charge points – to encourage demand.

Plug-in Vans. The Market Set To Grow

Electric vehicle and home and workplace charging point grants update – March 2020

The Government has announced (March 2020) changes to the Plug-In Car and Van Grants and both the home and workplace charging schemes.

Take A Deep Breath: The Latest On Clean Air Zones

Clean Air Zones are being implemented in towns and cities across the UK in response to Government and local authority concerns about high levels – sometimes illegally high levels – of air pollution.

Poor air quality affects the health of millions of people across the UK and is reported to contribute to the early deaths of 40,000 people each year. It is caused by high levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulate matter. Transport is responsible for 80% of NOx in areas of the poorest air quality, most of which is related to emissions from vehicles.

It's Good To Talk: Caring About Mental Health

State of mind is a critical element to driving safely. But instead of being calm, relaxed and alert many company car and van drivers are stressed – and that can manifest itself in road crashes.

Stress can develop into a mental health problem, which is why the Mental Health Foundation says that “good mental health at work and good management go hand in hand and there is strong evidence that workplaces with high levels of mental wellbeing are more productive”.

What Does WLTP Mean For Your Fleet

Venson Automotive Solutions, almost two years ago, published a white paper on the impact of the introduction of the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) on fleet operations.

Procuring Fleet: Buyer Beware

Company vehicles are an important asset for supporting core business operations and that’s why our contract hire and fleet management solutions are created in response to our clients’ needs and are based on our commitment to long term partnership and exceptional customer service.

Fleet Implications Of A No Deal Brexit For The UK

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union – Brexit – has been called “the greatest challenge of our times” by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

While the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) says that Brexit is the “number one priority” amongst its members, which include Venson Automotive Solutions.

The Future Of The Fleet Manager & Business Mobility

Historically, vehicle management was the domain of the fleet/transport manager, but over the last two decades or so, many companies have abolished that role opting to outsource the management of company cars – and in some cases light commercial vehicles.

Time To Make The Switch?

he Government has announced (March 2020) changes to the Plug-In Car and Van Grants and both the home and workplace charging schemes.

The Future Of Diesel For Fleets

Company vehicles are an important asset for supporting core business operations and that’s why our fleet management solutions are created in response to our clients’ needs and are based on our commitment to long term partnership and exceptional customer service.

Electric Vehicles: A Guide To Spark Your Interest