Mitie accelerates electric vehicle roll-out

Mitie has reached another landmark in its electric vehicle (EV) roll-out, having taken delivery of its 250th plug-in vehicle.

The Nissan e-NV200 van will be based at Heathrow Airport and joins the 200 electric cars and 49 electric vans already in Mitie’s fleet.

Andrew Chen, head of emissions strategy at Heathrow Airport, said: “We are proud to be welcoming Mitie’s 250th electric vehicle to Heathrow, which not only marks a significant milestone for one of our biggest suppliers but also helps Team Heathrow to reduce airside emissions and improve local air quality.

“Heathrow has one of the biggest electric vehicle charging networks in Europe and we are driven to help all of our airside users reduce emissions and improve efficiencies across the airport.

“We look forward to continuing to work closely with Mitie on their EV program and other sustainability goals.”

The milestone demonstrates Mitie’s business-leading commitment to switch 20% of its small van and car fleet to electric by the end of 2020, it says.

Mitie marked its 100th EV at the end of October and has since accelerated its rollout, resulting in 150 more electric cars and vans joining the fleet in less than three months.

With 400 more vehicles already on order and set for delivery in the first quarter of 2020, Mitie says it is well on track to meet its 20% by 2020 commitment.

The van is not the first electric vehicle Mitie has deployed onto the Heathrow contract. It joins the 16 other electric cars and vans the company already uses on site.

Mitie has focused on upgrading its vehicles based at the Airport to electric to support the ambitious Heathrow 2.0 Sustainability Strategy, which includes a goal to establish an airside ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ) by 2025 and a target to become a zero-carbon airport as quickly as possible.

However, while Mitie’s rollout continues at pace, the need for more charge points – both on-street residential and rapid chargers – and the lack of availability of larger vans remain key barriers to EV uptake, it claims.

As signatories of the EV100 commitment, Mitie has pledged to convert its entire fleet to electric by 2030.

However, until Government and local authorities make improvements to the UK’s charge point network and manufacturers improve vehicle availability and model range, these issues remain major blockers for the UK’s EV transition, it says.

Mitie is calling on other organisations, government departments and City Councils to join the movement, by switching to electric fleets and supporting the enhancement of charge point infrastructure.

Simon King, director of sustainability and EV strategy at Mitie, said: “As this important milestone shows, our electric vehicle commitment is picking up pace as we rapidly rollout electric vehicles all over Britain, putting 75 new EVs on the roads every month.

“However, if the UK is going to meet crucial targets to reduce carbon and minimise the effects of climate change, we need more businesses, like Heathrow Airport, as well as government departments and city councils, to join us in the switch to electric vehicles.

“The first step to achieving this is ensuring an adequate number of charge points, in the places where they are needed most, are installed all over the UK, so that drivers are sure they can charge where and when they need to.”

Mitie has delivered an integrated facilities management service for the UK’s busiest airport for 10 years, providing security, a wide range of engineering services, cleaning, maintenance, landscaping, post room services, reception and waste management.