Energy Efficiency & Sustainability
Going electric brings benefits
Freefoam introduced an electric car to its fleet last autumn , and the company has already started to benefit .
» GEORGE LANGLEY , AREA SALES Manager for the Anglian region , has been driving a fully-electric Skoda Enyaq since last year . Freefoam ’ s Area Sales Managers regularly cover hundreds of miles in a week to meet customers , so their cars need to deliver what they promise when it comes to range performance .
George says : “ I wouldn ’ t go back to a diesel car . Electric cars are the future and it ’ s something that we should be doing now . In the UK , 27 % of CO 2 output comes from domestic transport . We need to reduce CO 2 and company cars are a great way to do it without much change to infrastructure .”
As a leading manufacturer , Freefoam is incorporating sustainability and circular economy initiatives and principles into every area of its business , and introducing electric vehicles for its sales team is just one strand of that .
Alongside the benefits to the environment , there ’ s a cost advantage to businesses with electric cars . For George ’ s Skoda Enyaq , the cost per mile currently works out to be just over half when compared to his previous diesel car . Road tax is a lot less and electric vehicles only have to be serviced once every two years , independent of mileage , while his previous vehicle had to be serviced every 12,000 miles , which worked out around three times a year .
George adds : “ Electric cars are far nicer to drive – it ’ s quieter , and the acceleration is lovely . Don ’ t believe the horror stories about waiting for charge stations , the worse situation I have ever found myself in was having to wait 10 minutes . Most of the time you just turn up and tap and go . Charge stations are easy to use , and you can use most of them .
“ I normally get around a 220-mile range in the summer . It ’ s a little less in the winter . On long journeys , you do have to plan stops , but as an Area Sales Manager , you should be doing that anyway . There are handy apps out there , like Zap-Map , that tell you where charging stations are and there are always facilities available for a coffee and a comfort break .
“ I normally allow between 20 and 30 minutes for a charge and while I wait , I catch up on a big chunk of my day-to-day emails and queries , which I then don ’ t have to manage when I get home . It ’ s a more relaxed journey and I still get home at a similar time to when I had a diesel car – it ’ s a no-brainer !”
Colin St John , Commercial Director at Freefoam , says : “ Sustainability and carbon reduction considerations have become part of our daily thinking across the whole of our business , and introducing electric cars is a logical step for us to take . They will bring a CO 2 reduction for the company , benefiting the environment , as well as the company and our teams . Of equal importance was how going electric has changed George ’ s work pattern for the better .
“ Thank you to George for trialling our first electric car ; we are looking to move forward with a fully-electric fleet .”
Demystifying electric cars
Myth : Batteries die quickly .
Truth : There isn ’ t a single battery in an EV . The pack contains hundreds of small batteries , so if a few fail over the lifetime of the car , it will have minimal effect on performance .
Myth : There are lots of different types of plugs – you can ’ t use any charge point .
Truth : Electric cars tend to use the same type of plugs . One for home / office and the other for rapid charging . In Europe , Tesla cars use the same connector as nearly all other electric cars . Tesla cars can use any charge point and non-Tesla cars can use some , but not all , Tesla charging stations .
Myth : The car might be green but it ’ s charged with non-renewable energy .
Truth : Every charge point uses green electricity , once it ’ s been built an electric car produces no CO 2 emissions .
Learn more about Freefoam ’ s products , service and support by visiting www . freefoam . com or calling 0800 002 9903 . Follow @ freefoam
48 MAY 2023 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM