Westpac banking on EVs
Westpac New Zealand has achieved 26% electrification of its vehicle fleet and, following an order with Hyundai for 16, will have more than 30% completed from October.
Once that target is passed, Westpac will still have about 200 internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in its fleet.
“Over time we will be converting the fleet to more efficient vehicles as the range of vehicle choice improves and additional infrastructure is installed,” Westpac New Zealand general procurement senior commercial manager Dan Harris says.
Westpac has installed more than 50 chargers in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch.
“We plan to install more in Takapuna, Upper Hutt and Christchurch,” Harris says.“If the vehicle is a battery electric vehicle (BEV), it has a dedicated charger and parking space.For the plug-in hybrid EVs (PHEVs), we have a pool of chargers in each location that can be utilised.” Other options include using public or home charging.
Harris explains the Westpac EV fleet comprises a combination of passenger BEVs and PHEVs with the Hyundai Ioniq being the vehicle of choice.It also has a few BMWs which were among the original EV test vehicles.
Asked if anything made the transition difficult, Harris says charging and range anxiety were the main early concerns.
“But we’ve addressed these by educating and familiarising our people with the vehicles.”
Harris says buy-in and support from senior leaders and staff has been tremendous, with feedback very good after the initial issues were addressed.
“All our workers get an education session from Hyundai when they receive an EV.They’re able to go back to a Hyundai dealer at any time for additional training when necessary.Hyundai has been supportive of us and it has helped with the fleet transition.”
Westpac’s fleet manager Custom Fleet manages Westpac’s EV fleet requirements, and Westpac has also collated a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions on its intranet for quick reference.
Harris says all its vehicles are “tools of trade” for employees, with a small number designated pool vehicles.
“Our EVs are used for a range of business purposes, including visiting both urban and rural customers.”
Having greater access to more EV types, such as utes, would have allowed Westpac to replace light commercial vehicles in the fleet with an EV alternative, Harris adds.That’s expected to happen once these become available.
Another issue is around public chargers.
“A lack of public charging infrastructure means our staff sometimes have to queue, but as an early technology adopter we have to be prepared for these challenges,” Harris says.
He says Westpac believes business has a big role to play in reducing New Zealand’s carbon emissions – “which is why we are one of the founding members of the Climate Leaders Coalition”.
“The EV transition is part of a wider Westpac sustainability goal of reducing our enterprise emissions by 25% (from 2016 levels) by mid-next year.
“We’ve invested in GPS for all of our new vehicles, so we envisage that the fleet will change in character and composition as we obtain utilisation data,” Harris adds.
“As part of our EV journey, we have compiled a document for other businesses seeking to transition to EVs.We encourage others to read it and talk to us if they have any questions.”
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