We know that EVs are driving positive change for the planet, but they can also offer excellent value for companies – and help to attract top talent
Clean up your company cars: transitioning a fleet to EVs can impact emissions quite significantly
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With a list of clients including some of Britain’s biggest brands as well as the public sector, there’s a good chance that if you’ve worked in an office, it was maintained by facilities management company Mitie.
While many associate Mitie with its traditional services – cleaning and security – it’s also helping businesses reduce carbon emissions with a scheme called Plan Zero.
As part of Plan Zero, Mitie has also committed to net zero for its own operations by 2025, and across its supply chain by 2035.
“We have technical services and engineering expertise across our business – with more than 4,200 customers and 12,000 engineers,” explains Alex Avila, who heads Mitie’s e-mobility and electric vehicle (EV) solutions team. “We thought we should be in the business of helping companies decarbonise. We’ve committed to decarbonising ourselves – it can be tricky, but we know it can be done.”
With a background in energy and transport decarbonisation, Avila joined Mitie in the summer last year. He and his team help companies transition to EVs through an end-to-end offering which ranges from advisory support to design, installation, management and ongoing maintenance of charging infrastructure.
“Every month, more companies realise they need to do more around decarbonisation. Last year’s climate conference focused people. A good way to start the decarbonisation process is to transition a fleet of vehicles – it can impact emissions significantly and quickly.”
Mitie incorporates Audi e-trons in its fleet, one of the first UK firms to do so. “We embarked on our electric vehicle transition in 2018,” Avila says. “We have 6,500 vehicles in our fleet, of which over 2,000 are EVs, making us the largest pure electric fleet in the UK.”
Billing solutions are an important consideration, as drivers don’t want to suffer from “bill shock” after charging an EV at home.
“An increase of £50 a month on their household electricity bill could have a massive impact. We make sure this is part of the conversation early on so clients can plan for it. We work with companies such as Mina and ChargePoint that can automatically reimburse employees for costs they incur when charging their company vehicle at home.”
Take charge
How an electric fleet can boost your business
There are many benefits to transitioning to an electric fleet and making solid environmental commitments, Avila believes. “For starters, it’s a big talent attractor and retainer,” he says. “There’s a high percentage of people who won’t consider working for a company unless they have clear environmental and net zero commitments. I’m seeing it with the people I’m recruiting for my own team that having an all-electric company car scheme has been hugely influential.”
Other incentives include the low benefit-in-kind tax on electric company cars, which currently sits at just 1 per cent, versus up to 37 per cent for petrol vehicles. So businesses need to look beyond initial costs, because while EVs are often more expensive to buy, electric makes sense for fleet vehicles, which generally have a higher annual mileage than personal vehicles. “They are significantly cheaper to operate so the total cost of ownership is rapidly approaching parity,” Avila says. “In many cases, it’s already more attractive.”
Mitie continues to push boundaries and trial new EVs. “Last year, we launched the UK’s first fully electric gritter for commercial use, named Gritter Thunberg. Currently in use in Nottingham, Gritter Thunberg shows our commitment to pushing the UK’s EV agenda further and faster.”
Transport accounts for more than a quarter of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, so the electrification of company vehicles has a huge part to play in achieving net zero by 2050.
“Three out of five cars go straight into corporate fleets before they move into the second-hand market, so it kickstarts the process,” Avila says. “If you transition corporate fleets, everything follows. It’s a big step in the right direction.”
There’s been a huge step change in the number of companies wanting to transition their fleet to electric, says English. “Over 50 per cent of our orders are for electric vehicles now. That’s more than doubled since last year.”
English and her team work with fleets of all sizes. Audi’s EV&me app tracks how fleet drivers are using their current cars, pointing to potential savings with an EV.
The Audi e-tron card provides access to 75 per cent of the UK’s charging stations, and partnerships with Pod Point, Octopus Energy and Mina simplify home charging, sourcing green energy and billing.
The technology, English says, is ready to cope with the demands of fleet driving. “The Q4 e-tron has come at the right time. The range of up to 316 miles is ideal for fleets and the charge time is quite significant – up to 80 per cent within 40 minutes with a rapid charger.
“Going electric can feel momentous for any business but the Audi UK Fleet team are here to support them on that journey.”
Light on your fleet
Get connected: the Audi e-tron card can access 75 per cent of the UK’s charging stations
Electric drive: orders for Audi’s EVs have more than doubled from last year
Transitioning to an EV fleet will impact emissions significantly and quickly
Going electric can feel like a big change, but we share best practices and learnings from all our customers
Discover more at audi.co.uk
Claire English, head of fleet for Audi, helps corporate clients transition to electric with the Audi e-tron range
Last year, we
launched the
UK’s first fully
electic gritter for commercial use
– we named it
Gritter Thunberg
promoted content
Alex Avila, head of Mitie’s e-mobility
and EV solutions team
The vehicles shown have non-UK specification and non-standard features and Are not available for sale in the UK