Mitie has achieved a landmark moment in its electric vehicle (EV) strategy, having passed its target of switching 20% of its cars and small vans to electric.
Mitie now has over 750 EVs, well above its 20% by 2020 target of 717 zero emission vehicles. The 717th EV, a Kia e-Niro, was delivered to the Mobile Engineering team three months ahead of the 2020 deadline and just 15 months after Mitie’s first-ever EV joined the fleet. On average, Mitie is now adding 75 new electric cars and vans to its fleet every month.
With Mitie’s fleet accounting for around 93% of its total carbon emissions, reaching this milestone is an important step towards Mitie’s wider Plan Zero commitment to produce net zero carbon emissions by 2025. In fact, a key part of Plan Zero is Mitie’s pledge to switch its entire fleet1 of around 5,500 cars and vans to zero emission vehicles by 2025.
The EV strategy has also focused on creating charging infrastructure for Mitie drivers. Where possible, every Mitie driver has had a charge point installed at their home and chargers are now in place at Mitie’s key office locations and some customer sites too. In total, Mitie has installed over 600 chargers throughout the UK.
However, charging remains a significant barrier, with a recent survey of Mitie’s EV drivers finding that it is one of the biggest difficulties they face when switching. Around half (48%) of Mitie’s EV drivers highlighted that issues with public charging, such as a lack of charge points in areas where there’s no off-street parking and problems finding rapid chargers, are their biggest concern.
As one of the UK’s largest EV fleet operators, Mitie has gained significant experience in how to successfully roll-out electric vehicles. This includes every aspect of the EV journey from overcoming challenges around paying for home charging costs through to employee engagement and education on the significant benefits of EVs. To help share this expertise and support more businesses with transitioning to an electric fleet, Mitie has launched its Plan Zero Fleet Transition Service. An end-to-end solution, the Service encompasses every stage of a business’ EV transition, from vehicle choice and charging infrastructure, through to employee travel policies. The Service takes a whole life cost approach and is independent of any suppliers, allowing Mitie to deliver a zero emissions fleet for zero additional cost. In fact, in many cases, the transition can deliver financial savings.
Simon King, Director of Sustainability and Social Value, Mitie, said:
“With our first electric vehicle joining our fleet just 15 months ago, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve delivered on our ambitious commitment to switch 20% of our cars and small vans to EV, three months ahead of schedule. But this is just the first leg of our journey. We’re committed to going further and faster, having pledged to have a zero-emission fleet by 2025.
“With such a rapid electric vehicle rollout, we’ve overcome numerous challenges by creating and implementing new solutions along the way. Through our Plan Zero fleet transition service, we’re taking our commitment to sustainability one step further by sharing our experiences and expertise with others.”
