Discovering everything there is to know about driving electric is a journey, that’s why Team Europcar jumped at the chance to take part in the GreenFleet EV Rally!
Travelling 1,200 all-electric miles in just 5 days, find out how we got on here in this special edition of ‘GreenFleet Talks’ with The EV Café’s John Curtis and our Commercial Director and Sustainability spokesperson, Mark Newberry.
Mark also provides some insight into why the EV Rally was such an important experience below:
Europcar holds a unique position in the world of electric motoring. We’re not trying to persuade businesses and individuals to buy; instead we’re providing a real world experience to ‘try before they buy’. We’re also offering a mobility solution that means vehicle ownership could be replaced by zero emission vehicle usership. It’s a win-win for the environment.
But we know that there are still many questions organisations are asking before they make the switch to electric. As a major provider in the mobility space it’s our responsibility to help them find the answers. It’s all part of our commitment to reducing emissions, both for our customers and for our own operations.
Over 5 days, 25 drivers took to the wheel in four Europcar branded electric vehicles supplied by VW Group. Part of a 50-strong fleet of electric vehicles travelling from Cardiff to London, to Edinburgh and then onto Belfast and Dublin our goal was to gain deeper insights into real world electric driving. 1,200 miles – 60,000 eMiles across all the teams – later we’ve gained a lot more knowledge that we intend to pass onto our customers.
Charge when you stop … don’t stop to charge
Having driven more than 1,200 miles within a working week, the Europcar team was encouraged to find that charging can fit in around journey and driver requirements and preferences. For example, charging overnight ensured time was used efficiently – and charging was cheaper as a slow charger could be used. A full overnight charge would maximise the distance the vehicle could travel the following day before needing to top up.
Plus, the team discovered it made sense to charge when they stopped – for a comfort break or meal stop – rather than planning their journey around charge stops. This type of top-up charging increases efficiency and ensures charge levels don’t drop too low. Chargers can be chosen based on facilities nearby rather than out of necessity, making the break more enjoyable. And even short charges on a high-speed charger while the team had a comfort break and bought a drink added valuable range.
Know your vehicle
Another key learning – prompted by the fact that quite a few different people were driving each of the Europcar vehicles – was the importance of really knowing your vehicle. Where is the charge port; what’s the best charger for the job; how long does it take to charge; is there a particular button to press to start the charging? That’s something that, as a mobility provider with people often using one of our cars or vans for just a few hours or days at a time, we consider a really important learning to support our customers.
‘Be more tortoise’
Of course, electric cars and vans can drive at the same speed as petrol or diesel equivalents, but the faster you drive the less efficient and the quicker the battery charge will go down. On the EV Rally the Europcar team adopted the ‘tortoise’ rather than the ‘hare’ strategy with the result that they didn’t experience any range issues. As a result the ID Buzz cargo van achieved the highest range in one day on a single charge – an impressive 245 miles – and it still had 20% range left in the ‘tank’.
Supporting customers on their EV journey
The lessons learnt by the Europcar team on the EV Rally mean we can tailor our customer support to be truly fit for purpose in an EV world. Because we often work with drivers who are new to electric motoring, we know we need to provide a good handover for each vehicle. Our Certified EV Ambassadors ensure new EV drivers are fully briefed on the nuances of charging. And our soon to be launched digital EV Guide will make the transition to electric as stress-free as possible.
Find out more about Europcar’s electric motoring solutions here.
And to see more about how our team got on during the EV Rally click here.
