Eric Wright Group

Steve Openshaw, Group Fleet Manager, Eric Wright Group

When I joined Eric Wright in 2007 the fleet was 99 cars and 10 vans. This is now 302 cars and 159 light commercials, managed by myself and Sue McGuigan our fleet administration manager.

We’ve worked hard to gain buy-in right across the Group, allaying people’s concerns about switching to EVs. As well as setting an example as an early adopter (I’ve been an EV driver since 2013) we’ve carried out a major education programme and ensure support for people during transition.  Our group policy on company vehicles is that only EV or hybrid vehicles are now available.

We benchmark all vehicles on a 4 year/100,000 mls replacement cycle. We’re constantly looking at ways to reduce cost from fuel usage, telematics and journey planning. We’re investing heavily in the charging infrastructure across our property portfolio and will increase HQ charging points from 5 to 40 starting next year.

We set a target of 50% of our fleet being ultra-low emission vehicles by 2025 and are set to smash through this by the end of 2022. Some key measure include:

• Our fleet is 22-29 g of C02 less than the construction sector average and are projected to reach 0g C02 by 2030.  This is ahead of both the lease corporate fleet and the construction sector, which will be closer to 50g of C02 by 2030.
   
• Alternative fuels account for 47% of the fleet, higher than the LA corporate fleet and the construction sector, which are 26-31%.
   
• 42% of our fleet are ULEV’s - higher than the peer group and our corporate fleet which sits at 19-24%.
   
• In July 2021, we had 42 BEVs on fleet - our order bank will take that to 95% BEVs or PHEVs.
   

We have an open book partnership with our funders so they have full transparency and can see where the costs sit. This has allowed our partners to offer enhanced agreements so both parties share the gains and savings.

I’m on the Association of Fleet Professionals light commercial vehicle committee, looking into best practice and LCV operations. We are lobbying government on change to support our road operations, increase awareness of best practice and support fleet managers in running compliant, effective operations.

The Group is now class-leading in EV adoption, out-performing many of our contemporaries in reducing carbon emissions and environmental impact.