The John Lewis Partnership is replacing its Home Services fleet with electric vehicles (EVs) and will establish a mixed charging solution incorporating depot, public network and home charging.
The move is part of the retail giant’s commitment to transition 4,000 cars, vans and light trucks to EV by 2030.
EV technology specialists Flexible Power Systems (FPS) is supporting the project.
A trial will start next month and FPS will integrate data collected into a wider electrification plan for the 350 Home Services vehicles, which provide home estimating and fitting services for John Lewis.
“Companies like The John Lewis Partnership have to electrify their fleets to combat climate change. Replacing commercial diesel fleets with electric vehicles is just one part of the picture. We need to bring together the ecosystem of chargers, power management and operational interfaces required to keep fleets serving customers efficiently,” said Michael Ayres, managing director of FPS.
He added: “Like many company car drivers, Home Services partners have a range of working patterns and living arrangements, we need to ensure we can offer a flexible and scalable charging solution to fit these needs via depot, home or public network charging.
“It’s essential to collect data through trials like this one, to inform and de-risk the very substantial decarbonisation investments in vehicles and infrastructure fleets are planning.
“One-size doesn’t fit all in fleet electrification projects. A range of operational, site and vehicle requirements need to be balanced to arrive at effective strategies.”
The project follows a successful joint wireless van charging trial currently underway at Waitrose at St Katharine Dock in London.
Kate Cosco, product services field manager, said: “This is another step along the path of the John Lewis Partnerships ambition to move completely away from fossils fuels in the fleet by 2030, saving an estimated 500,000 tonnes of CO2 between 2020 & 2030.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to test how electric vehicles work for us in Home Services. The team are extremely excited to get out on the road and to begin driving these new vehicles”
The John Lewis Partnership plans to have a fossil free fleet by 2030. By 2028, all its HGVs will be running on Biomethane and the delivery and Home Services fleet will be electrified by 2030.
> Interested in comparing electric vehicle data? Check out our EV tool.
> Interested in ensuring the efficient use of EVs. Check out our dedicated editorial sections: Insight & policy | EV news | Charging & infrastructure | Costs & incentives | Benefit-in-kind | EV case studies | EV road tests
More articles on:
The Fleet News' guide Leadership in fleet is a comprehensive guide on the skills and knowledge you need to become an outstanding fleet leader.
We look at the areas in our sector having the greatest effect on the way fleets operate, offering advice and insight to give fleet decision-makers the confidence to make right decisions and form the best strategies.
Read now
Matt has been an automotive journalist for eight years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.
Login to comment
Comments
No comments have been made yet.