Changing Lives in an Electric World

Q&A with WAVCA deputy chairman & Allied Mobility MD, Peter Facenna

Why are we here today?

I’m here representing both Allied Mobility and WAVCA. WAVCA members are responsible for 95% of the UK wheelchair accessible vehicle (WAV) industry, so it’s really important for us to be involved in this stakeholder event. It’s our priority to make sure that the right messages are getting across to the various stakeholders so that we can continue to manufacture WAVs, make WAVs affordable and available as we transition from internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) to electric vehicles (EV).

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What are the challenges the WAV industry is facing today?

The immediate challenge right now is the lack of vehicles in the supply chain. Demand is still very high, but we don’t have the cars to convert and to deliver to customers. Currently there are circa 3,600 WAV customers waiting on a WAV from the industry, and for a lot of those customers, their condition may have changed or deteriorated so this might be their first WAV and they could be housebound at the moment because they don’t have a WAV. Renewing customers who already have a WAV are more fortunate because Motability Operations has been able to extend their current vehicle lease, but that’s not everyone’s situation.

For businesses it’s very difficult because they still have large operating costs without the associated income and the ability to deliver vehicles. So, the impact of vehicle availability is really two-fold, a large customer impact and the impact on our businesses without the product to manufacture and sell.

The other challenge we’ve got coming down the track is the transition to EVs because there’s the complicated technical aspect as well as the logistics and infrastructure side of things. So, we need to be aware of that and make sure that WAV customers aren’t left behind in the transition.

Why is this event so important?

Our customers are some the most vulnerable in society and their WAVs are a lifeline for them. So, without a WAV, many people would not be able to leave their house because it would be too challenging to move about, or to use public transport. So, it’s really important from a customer perspective. Additionally, it’s important to the 12 members of WAVCA, to their businesses and the 1,800 people that we employ between us. We’ve got to make sure our businesses are sustainable as we move forward.

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Why is the collaboration of organisations so important?

One party can’t fix this. You might have the best ideas in the world but if you don’t have the buy-in from Government, from manufacturers, and from Motability Operations then we won’t be able to solve it. So, it’s important to get our heads together to understand what the challenges are – the technical challenges, the logistical challenges, the infrastructure challenges, the commercial challenges – and to discuss how we solve them. And to ensure that WAVs are going to be available in the future, both in terms of the short to medium-term with ICE, and with EVs in the longer-term.

We can’t have a scenario when we get to 2030 and we’ve almost gone back 30 years to when people are stuck in their houses again because we don’t have a mobility solution. So, it’s important that all the right people are here to get our heads together to try and come up with a solution for these challenges.

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What do you need from the manufacturers regarding collaboration?

Right now, we need the product to satisfy the demand and the order banks that we’ve all got. But as we move forward, we want them to collaborate with us to ensure that we can have open communication around the transition to EV, for them to be open with us in terms of the technology and to come with an open mind about what we need to do to the vehicles to ensure that we can still manufacture them into WAVs. So, if that means moving the battery slightly or whatever else it needs, that’s really important. And we really need them to focus on this market because, whilst it might not be the most profitable market or the biggest volume, I would argue that it’s the single most important market in the automotive industry in terms of providing transport for the most vulnerable. We really need senior levels within the manufacturers to believe that as well and take actions on the back of this belief.

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What support do you need from Motability Operations to deliver EWAVS?

Events like this are good. The size of the business – being 10 per cent of all UK new car registrations – means that ultimately, it has quite a bit of sway with manufacturers that we might otherwise not have, to make sure it’s on their agenda.

Motability Operations also has the financial firepower to help us when it comes to coming up with new and innovative solutions to the challenges that we’re tackling around EVs. It’s all about continued open dialogue and supporting us with EV trials and everything else that we’re trying to help with the transition – not just with the vehicles that they’re in but the infrastructure and making sure that if people do get stuck that there is the support to help customers as we transition over.

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How can Government help to ease the transition to EVs?

At the moment, most people with EVs in the UK are company car drivers because of the tax benefits. We really need the Government to make EV incentives greater for those on little to no income as well. We need the incentives for WAV customers to go green. For customers who use WAVS, the average mileage is 17 miles a day so if a customer does have access to a charger, it’s actually the perfect solution. But we need to make sure they’re affordable and that we can work around the technical challenges so that they are available for customers to choose.

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What is the main takeaway you hope has been achieved from the event?

I hope that everyone understands how critical this market is. In the grand scheme of things, it might be a small volume, but as I’ve said, it’s the most critical part of what the Scheme offers and, I would argue the most critical part of what any manufacturer does in terms of what the vehicles are used for. So, hopefully that message has been heard loud and clear and we see some action of the back of this. First and foremost, freeing up immediate supply so that we can give customers the vehicles that they’ve ordered – which in some cases is up to 18 months ago – and that they are working with converters with an open dialogue and a will to help to make sure that we’ve got the solutions we need going forward.