One point of contact for installation and administration = quicker and easier
Investment company Gimv wanted to electrify its fleet of company vehicles without delay. This entailed solar panels, 26 car park charge points, charge points at employees' homes, charge cards and smart charging everywhere. In MobilityPlus, Gimv found a total partner able to coordinate everything. According to Vincent Van Bueren, Compliance & ESG Manager at Gimv, “the advantage of employing such a comprehensive approach is that it is not only practical, but also administratively convenient.”
Gimv invests strongly in accordance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. “Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are a permanent part of our dialogue with our companies,” says Vincent Van Bueren. “We want to constantly challenge our partners. Naturally, as an investment company, you then have to set a good example yourself. We are not a manufacturer , so we don't have too many options. However, we could act to make our building and fleet more environmentally sustainable.”
Electrifying 50 vehicles over four years
To that end, Gimv set out to find a partner who could coordinate everything: the installation of solar panels and charge points, along with the administration of charge cards. “We already had four charge points, but our ambition was to electrify our entire fleet of around 50 vehicles over four years. We therefore had to move forward. If you have charge points and cards with different leasing companies, things can quickly become very confusing. Through our network of contacts, we were pointed in the direction of MobilityPlus. They had already worked for a number of companies we ourselves had invested in, which instantly filled us with a great deal of confidence.”
Photos: © Marble Moon
Today, smart energy management is a must. It means we can always make maximum use of solar panels, and so minimise our load on the grid.
Vincent Van Bueren, Compliance & ESG Manager at Gimv
Solar panels are essential
“We wanted to start with solar panels. This is because, with electric vehicles, you are suddenly going to be consuming a lot more electricity from the grid. Naturally, we wanted to compensate for that. When it comes to the total cost of ownership, this becomes particularly financially advantageous. A great advantage here is MobilityPlus' smart energy management system. It means we can always make maximum use of solar panels, and so minimise our load on the grid.”
Administrative simplicity as an asset
Besides Gimv's 26 charge points, MobilityPlus was also responsible for installing charge points at employees' homes. “This has also gone very smoothly. Employees simply shared their living situation, i.e. type of property, whether they own or rent, and whether they have solar panels. If they had panels, we also provided them with smart energy management. We reimburse our employees based on their measured home charging consumption. This happens smoothly, all via one invoice.”
We reimburse employees for the electricity used for home charging. This happens smoothly, all via one invoice.
Vincent Van Bueren, Compliance & ESG Manager at Gimv
“Besides the practicality of having all the work done via one single point of contact, the standard of aftercare and clear invoicing also particularly stand out for me. Without a partner like MobilityPlus, we would have ended up with an administrative mess involving up to a dozen parties. If there is any technical issue, it is also immediately resolved.”
Example: “As with everyone, we ran into some supply chain issues. However, even then MobilityPlus always remained constructive in their thinking. They installed the charge points – both at employees' homes and at Gimv – in phases. As a result, every employee got a charge point and a charge card when they needed it. The pieces of the puzzle have fitted together nicely.”
Every employee got a charge point and a charge card when they needed it. The pieces of the puzzle have fitted together nicely.
Vincent Van Bueren, Compliance & ESG Manager at Gimv
A handy app
“Currently, about half of our 50-vehicle fleet has gone electric. This does not mean that all our charge points are constantly occupied. Thanks to MobilityPlus tools, we are able to continuously monitor the functioning of each charge point. Currently we are nowhere near our maximum capacity. But if at some point in the future we do have too few charge points, we know exactly who to turn to. MobilityPlus' handy app also allows employees to quickly and easily search available public charge points and track their public charging usage.”
