British corporations plan switch to electric fleets

The major British energy companies Centrica and SSE have joined the Climate Group’s EV100 initiative together with facility service provider Mitie. This commits them to electrifying all their vehicle fleets by 2030. This involves a total of around 21,000 vehicles.

Centrica maintains the third largest company fleet of the country with 12,500 vehicles. The companies’ technicians use the combustion fleet, among other things, for customer appointments. The company wants to use its own fleet of vehicles to drive forward the development and management of charging solutions for corporate fleets. “These companies are sending a clear message that the direction of travel for transport is electric, inspiring their staff and customers to follow – every major business must do the same,” said Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group.

The other two companies have slightly smaller vehicle fleets: Mitie is electrifying 5,300 vehicles and SSE 3,500. However, the energy company also wants to install charging stations for its 21,000 employees. “Decarbonisation is at the heart of what we do and low-carbon emissions from transport is critical if the UK is to meet its net zero targets,” said Brian McLaren of SSE.

In the UK, the electrification of fleets has already reached the political arena: In June, British Transport Secretary Chris Grayling called on all government departments to electrify their fleets more quickly. The background is last year’s “Road to Zero” strategy, which stipulates that all central government cars must be electrically powered by 2030, with at least a quarter of the fleet to be supplied with electricity by 2022. However, the strategy is not only intended to promote government vehicles: The “Road to Zero” electrification plan provides various subsidies and support measures for emission-free vehicles to the tune of 1.5 billion pounds. Great Britain has committed itself to ending the sale of new diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040.

businessgreen.com, theguardian.com, fleetnews.co.uk, theclimategroup.org