Gridserve sells its EV car leasing division to focus on core business

Gridserve has sold its electric vehicle (EV) leasing division to Carwow for an undisclosed sum as part of its plans to focus on its core business of rapid charger infrastructure.

Carwow will expand the focus of the leasing company from solely concentrating on EVs, to a broader focus of plug-in vehicles, as well as diesel and petrol models, once the brand is relaunched later in Q4 with a new name and visual identity.

Carwow has been on a bit of an acquisition trail, buying up Autoivia in February, the the automotive content and commerce media company, which saw established print and digital titles including Auto Express, evo, DrivingElectric and Carbuyer becoming part of its portfolio.

Carwow raised £37.8 million in July as part of its latest funding round to fuel its future growth ambitions.

Gridserve formed its car leasing division in collaboration with Hitachi Capital (UK) back in 2020.

At the time of launching Gridserve Car Leasing four years ago, Robert Gordon, CEO of Hitachi Capital (UK) (now named Novuna), said the concept was to offer EVs at some of the most competitive rates on the market, but also providing a network of rapid, reliable and renewably powered Electric Forecourts that would fast-track the electric vehicle revolution in the UK.

Each Gridserve Car Leasing lease rate included charging at Gridserve's Electric Forecourts without paying any additional costs.

It's unclear at this stage if the bundled public charging feature will continue as part of Carwow's new direction for the business.

The newly acquired leasing operation will run as an independent business unit, led by Gridserve leasing director, Rob Buckland.

Carwow said the new business will allow it to further enhance its car leasing comparison engine, which provides consumers with access to a range of cars from brokers across the UK.

Carwow will list its leasing offers alongside those from its existing partners to provide an even greater level of choice.

John Veichmanis, Carwow Group chief executive, (pictured) said: “Bringing Gridserve Car Leasing into the fold will enable us to develop a range of exciting new product experiences for those looking to lease their new car.

"We plan to substantially increase our overall investment into the leasing category and quickly expand our reach.

"We want to serve more customers looking to lease a car, while also providing our existing broker partners with more enquiries on our pay-on-results model.

“I am really excited to welcome Rob and his team to Carwow. They’ve a huge amount of collective experience and energy and we can’t wait for them to get started.”

Gridserve has installed almost 1,500 charging bays at over 190 locations in the UK, and Gridserve has become a market leading charge point operator.

The UK business will continue to focus on expanding its EV charging network, the Gridserve Electric Highway, including developing, delivering and operating new ‘super hubs’, its Electric Forecourts and electric heavy goods vehicle (HGV) charging facilities.