TECHIES 2012: Sparking plenty of interest

Figures of 27g/km and 235mpg are guaranteed to pique the interest of business car managers under pressure to lower costs and fuel bills, let alone those that also have their company’s environmental responsibilities and commitments to deal with.

Electric vehicles are all well and good, but not suitable for many fleet applications because of the limited range and lengthy recharge time. But Vauxhall’s multi-award-winning Ampera, with its petrol engine back-up to the 25-50-mile-range electric motor, makes for a more flexible transport solution.

“We do have an advantage over full electric vehicles, especially in the fleet market, as the Ampera doesn’t require in-journey or emergency charging,” says environmental strategy manager Ian Allen. “In theory you need never charge this car up – you could run it on petrol all the time, although if you do that you’ll only get around 50mpg and you’ve probably bought the wrong car!”

The company has had “unprecedented” interest in the Ampera since its launch last May, according to Allen. “We’ve had great feedback from the people who have tried the car, massive success on the evaluations by customers, and we’re trying to satisfy a massive backlog of demonstrator requests,” he tells BusinessCar. “We’ve had about 800 requests to fill, which is unprecedented for a new model.” That demand has led to Vauxhall seeking a larger allocation of cars for its demonstration fleet, which it’s trying to increase to 50 vehicles.

Allen has worked for Vauxhall for 22 years, but describes 2012 as “probably the most exciting year” of his time with the firm, adding that the Ampera takes the company and himself into an unaccustomed area. “This is a whole new concept for us – dealing with a fuel that isn’t sourced from a petrol station but from either people’s homes or by things on the side of the road,” he says. “We’re dealing with people like energy companies, charging point providers and the Plugged-in Places areas.”

Vauxhall’s Ampera expert, maybe surprisingly, says the official 235mpg test figure is sometimes a handicap when it comes to convincing people to consider the car for their business. “It’s slightly unhelpful because people just don’t believe it,” he comments. “Maybe some customers will never plug in, and get around 50mpg; maybe some will never use any fuel and get over 250mpg, which is where the on-board indicator stops!” Allen claims he knows of at least one case of a car delivered in May that is still on its first tank of fuel as it does the vast majority of its mileage on electric power.

“Out of all the vehicles ever built in the world, I’d imagine we have the widest mpg by customer,” he continues, claiming that the “vast majority” of the 450 cars registered so far are exceeding 100mpg.

Vauxhall added a lower-price trim level, called Earth, in the second half of this year, giving it a sub-£30,000 price point when you include the £5000 Government grant for ultra low-emission vehicles, but Allen says the more expensive Positiv and Electron specs are attracting the most interest. “We’re finding very few people go for the Earth model. People spending that kind of money are mainly going for the Electron top spec on the basis that they want leather, parking sensors, hard drive, Bose speakers etc,” he reveals. Meanwhile, the cars traded in have been different for the brand, too, with Vauxhalls being “the exception rather than the norm”, while Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Audi models can be counted among those exchanged for an Ampera.

Around half of the 450 cars registered so far have gone into the corporate arena, and the majority of those are through leasing companies. “There is a fairly wide range of leasing prices, from £399 up to £599, and I’d imagine the ones at £399 are doing a hell of a lot more business,” states Allen. “It comes down to confidence in the residual value – some are more bullish than others. We have a Cap RV of 40%-plus at three years and 30,000 miles, so it’s up to us to try and manage that as we go forward. Higher RVs mean lower lease rates and more interest.”

Although the car launched in May 2012, the new technology involved meant a longer lead time than normal in terms of preparing the industry for its arrival. “We’d been on a two-year launch to make sure people understand the car, and that included the RV guys and lease companies,” Allen reveals. “There were three things we wanted to do – awareness of the car, association with Vauxhall and differentiation.” The final point is an important one, as Allen means positioning the Ampera away from pure electric vehicles. “When EVs start having trouble and cutting prices, if and when that happens, RV providers and lease companies should keep us separate to that because we’re a different proposition of a car.”

He also tried to distance the Ampera from the Prius Plug-in, as that car can only run for 15 miles on electric power before reverting to traditional hybrid technology. “Hybrid is an internal combustion engine supported by a little electric motor, where we have a plug-in battery vehicle supported where necessary by an internal combustion engine.”

But Vauxhall’s job with the Ampera is also to increase awareness of this clever new technology and how it can work for businesses and drivers. “Electric vehicles are a slow burner, and retailers are telling us that when customers come in and buy a car they normally know what they want so it’s a one-shop experience,” explains Allen. “With the Ampera that’s not necessarily the case – it’s a two- or even three-shop experience because they take a test drive and do more research before the take the leap into an electric vehicle. It’s a much longer process.”

Mixed messages mean hindrance from Government

Virtually on the day the Ampera went on sale, the Government announced in the 2012 Budget that company car driver BIK exemptions for ultra low-emissions models would end in the 2015-16 tax year, until which vehicles from 1-76g/km are taxed at just 5%. As of April 2015 that will jump to 13%, while drivers of pure electric vehicles with no tailpipe emissions will go from zero to 13% BIK overnight, although the proposed changes are subject to a Government reassessment  ahead of the 2013 Budget. 

“At the very least this sends out a mixed message to people interested in buying these kinds of vehicles. On the face of it, it prevents especially some business drivers from making that leap of faith into an EV,” says Vauxhall environmental strategy manager Ian Allen. “We have lobbied several Government areas from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to the Treasury and continue to do so to try and make them understand the market impact this had on the EV industry. What might be seen as a small measure to them potentially has a massive impact on a fragile fledgling industry.

“Do you want a long-term market for ultra low-carbon vehicles? If you do you need to restore some confidence back into the market. What we need from Government is clear, consistent long-term financial incentives.”