European electric vehicle (EV) charging company Mer is strengthening its UK presence to offer a full-service solution to fleets.
It follows Mer’s recent acquisition of Elmtronics, a supplier and installer of EV charging points for workplaces and fleets, which has a 3,000-strong customer base built up over the past seven years.
Mer is rebranding all Elmtronics charging stations and facilities, resulting in the company’s charge points moving to the Mer charging network.
This, it says, will enable Mer to expand its existing public and private EV charge point network with a particular focus on the fleet and workplace markets, which have become essential to its growth strategy in the UK.
Backed by renewable energy producer Statkraft, Mer operates currently more than 1,000 DC chargers and more than 19,000 AC chargers in Norway, Sweden, UK, Germany and Austria in total.
Utilising a combined knowledge of back-office software, the acquisition will also bring significant investment in connectivity solutions.
For example, Elmtronics’ charge point back-office network, Hubsta, is being upgraded to the Mer network to offer an improved user experience for commercial use.
Currently, 15,000 drivers use the Hubsta network. New features including a booking system for drivers, charger load management and dedicated fleet management modules are planned.
In addition, existing Hubsta users will now also have access to an additional 530 public EV charge points from Mer.
“It’s great to see the integration of Elmtronics into Mer beginning to benefit customers,” said Dan Martin, managing director of fleet and workplace charging at Mer UK.
“As Mer, we will be offering our business customers more choice, a larger network and improved services. And we will continue to invest to further support commercial businesses looking to establish EV fleets in the UK.”
Martin explained that over the past 12 months, the company had seen a 44% year-on-year growth in demand for charging infrastructure as the industry shifts to more sustainable practices.
“To be able to make the transition to EV fleets effectively, companies need the appropriate charging infrastructure,” he said.
“I believe that this acquisition provides us with enhanced expertise to directly address the key barriers in EV adoption and we look forward to driving this change.”
The acquisition of Elmtronics introduces Mer to an established portfolio of commercial customers including Asda, Fedex, Octopus Energy, BMW and the London Ambulance Service.
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Gareth has more than 20 years’ experience as a journalist having started his career in local newspapers in the 1990s. Prior to joining Fleet News in 2008, he worked in the public sector as a media advisor and is currently news editor at Fleet News.
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