In partnership with Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, GRIDSERVE, which recently launched its first Electric Forecourt to support mass-market electric car and vehicle charging, also launched GRIDSERVE Electric Vehicle Solutions. This is the UK’s first net-zero electric vehicle leasing business. The service is designed to bring the cost of driving electric well below that of petrol or diesel cars and minimise the environmental impact of electric cars and vehicles.
With net-zero carbon energy included with monthly leasing payments, it means drivers can charge at Electric Forecourts without paying any additional costs. This removes a key barrier to mass electric car adoption by enabling people to accurately compare the cost of leasing a petrol or diesel vehicle, plus fuel, with an electric vehicle with fuel included. This reflects the true overall cost to the consumer, which in most cases demonstrates a lower cost for electric cars over petrol or diesel vehicles.
The benefit is amplified for the 40 percent of UK drivers without access to off-street parking, who would otherwise have to rely on less dependable and typically more expensive public charging infrastructure compared to charging at home. For those who lease through GRIDSERVE, charging at an Electric Forecourt becomes cheaper than home charging because energy is already included in monthly leasing payments.
To reduce the environmental impact of electric cars even further, GRIDSERVE has partnered with a tree planting organisation, which will plant 100 trees for every electric vehicle leased through the service. This helps to minimise the carbon emissions from supply chain processes, such as manufacturing.
Toddington Harper said: “Together with our Solar Farms and Electric Forecourts, GRIDSERVE Electric Vehicle Solutions completes our sun-to-wheel infrastructure designed to deliver net zero carbon transport from 2020 onwards. By including the planting of 100 trees for every electric vehicle leased through the service and providing net-zero carbon energy to charge all the vehicles, we’re making electric vehicle driving greener, cheaper and more straightforward than ever before.”
Robert Gordon, CEO of Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC, said: “Our partnership with GRIDSERVE is a total game-changer for electric mobility. Not only are we providing electric vehicles at some of the most competitive rates on the market, but we are at the same time developing a network of rapid, reliable and renewably powered Electric Forecourts that will fast-track the electric vehicle revolution in the UK as we prepare for a zero-carbon future.”
