The Association of Fleet Professionals (AFP) has grown to 1,200 members, said Chair Paul Hollick at the association’s annual conference.

The uptick in members represents a 20% growth, plus the association was financially stable, Paul told conference delegates at the conference, held May 17 at the British Motor Museum at Gaydon, England.

The AFP has come a long way in a short period of time to become a powerful lobbying voice and standard setter for fleet management. The association was formed from the merger of the Association of Car Fleet Operators and the Institute of Car Fleet Management in 2020.

Commenting, Hollick said:

“The AFP emerged at almost exactly the same time as the pandemic and in a sense, that meant we had to hit the ground running in terms of the support offered to our members working through unprecedented conditions. There was a huge sharing of experience and advice, and as a result, our organisation started with great momentum that has been very much maintained.

“By working together, we have achieved a lot in a short time, from significant results on benefit-in-kind taxation and the creation of a national EV charging database, through to the launch of the AFP Academy and our wide-ranging sub-committees providing advice in many key areas of fleet management. The latter are especially important when it comes to proactively tackling the issues our members face and sharing best practice.”

Hollick added that the AFP would continue to lobby for fairer Approved Electric Rates (AERs) — used to compensate drivers for electricity charges on business — which he described as “still not fit for purpose,” a “chargepoint czar,” capital allowances on leasing, and lobbying government on used EVs.

“We’re also providing new training in areas such as diversity and inclusion, and much more, which is all happening very much in response to member input,” Hollick added.

The conference included sessions on managing supply issues, which covered vehicles, conversions, parts and rental; managing aged fleets; reimbursing drivers of electric vehicles; optimizing LCV fleet and gear up for LCV electrification; and the rising costs of leasing and rental (which included panelist Lorna McAtear, fleet manager at National Grid, also a speaker at the upcoming Global Fleet Conference in Miami June 5-7).

There was also a live training exercise designed to show how to engage stakeholders with future fleet policy.

Hollick added: “While this is just the second AFP annual conference, it already feels like a well-established part of the fleet calendar. The fact that we are able to attract 300 members to this conference is a clear indication of the role that we play for our sector in helping fleet managers to meet the challenges they are facing head-on.”

The event was sponsored by Mina, the EV charging solution for business, owned by Fleetcor.