Landscape & Urban Design Issue 40 2019 | Page 12

LANDSCAPING SERVICES GROUND CONTROL’S 100 COMPANY CARS TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES Ground Control Ltd, one of the UK’s largest and most successful grounds maintenance, commercial landscaping and external solutions providers, has officially unveiled a significant investment in a fleet of 32 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles (EVs), taking the total number of Tesla EVs in the company’s fleet to over 40. The investment is part of its company-wide environmental strategy, and one that will eventually see all of Ground Control’s 100 company cars transition to electric vehicles over the next 12 months. Says Simon Morrish, CEO, Ground Control: “A strong commitment to the environment, and playing our part in protecting it, has always been a core guiding principle at Ground Control, so we are extremely pleased to have achieved another milestone 12 www.landud.co.uk in this regard with our investment in 32 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles.” Morrish states the commercial priorities for Ground Control when it started to look at transitioning its company vehicle fleet were: 1) it needed to ensure employees were no worse off – either financially or in terms of the quality and performance of the vehicle itself; 2) the business needed to be as close to cost-neutral itself as a result of the investment; and 3) there should be no loss of productivity across the business. “I’m very proud and pleased to say that initial indications are we have secured all three, which in my mind makes this investment a major commercial and environmental success story for us.” “With the launch of the Tesla Model 3, the economic benefits are too compelling to ignore,” he continues. “The business is cost-neutral in comparison to investing in a fleet of diesel or petrol cars over the lifetime of each vehicle, when the total cost of ownership is measured against that of a combustion engine car and its fuel, servicing, road tax and so on. And, importantly, the take home pay of Ground Control employees using the vehicles will rise in 2020 due to the introduction of a ‘Zero benefit in kind’ tax system, ensuring they don’t ‘lose out’ financially from their transiting to an EV.” www.ground-control.co.uk Follow us @ludmagazine