- UK water supply company Southern Water has awarded a five-year, £33 million contract to Novuna Vehicle Solutions to assist in transitioning its own fleet of diesel vans and company cars to a mix of EVs and PHEVs.
- Southern Water’s fleet consists of over 1,100 vehicles, including 749 vans, 200 company cars, and 205 specialist vehicles such as trucks and fork-lifts.
- To support the electric vehicle rollout, charging infrastructure will be rolled out across Southern Water sites and at the homes of the required employees.
Southern Water joins the ever-growing list of fleets going electric
Over the next five years, Novuna Vehicle Solutions will assist Southern Water in electrifying its vans and company cars, which will result in a mix of both fully-electric and plug-in hybrid models. As an end-to-end fleet solutions provider, Novuna will deliver fleet management services for the water firm, as well as providing EV charging points at 36 sites across Southern Water’s network – in addition to EV chargers at the homes of relevant employees. To speed up the rate of EV adoption, some of this charging infrastructure will be portable, allowing the firm to switch to EVs whilst more permanent charging infrastructure is still being constructed.
Southern Water’s 700-plus vans will form a major part of its electrification process, and comes as electric vans continue to rise in popularity amongst UK businesses, with recent months setting new records in new electric van registrations. The contract doesn’t outline the electrification of its larger work vehicles such as HGVs, but with other water providers such as Scottish Water recently adding the first electric HGV to its fleet, it’s clear that electric trucks are seriously capable vehicles.
Martin Lock, Fleet Manager at Southern Water, commented:
“Novuna’s commitment to sustainability aligns with our company’s ambitions. Their expertise in decarbonisation, especially across commercial vehicles, will be vital as we design and build the charging infrastructure required to move our fleet towards net zero.”
Jon Lawes, Managing Director of Novuna Vehicle Solutions, added:
“We’re proud to partner once again with Southern Water and play a key role in supporting their decarbonisation agenda. With a robust infrastructure rollout and dedicated support across all fleet classes, we’re committed to deliver a real impact and value to Southern Water demonstrating our unique end-to-end capabilities to future proof their business operations.”
