Boarding school partners with VW to create electric fleet

^{Image credit: Bradfield College}

Independent private boarding school, Bradfield College, has partnered with leasing company Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) Fleet to transition its fleet to an all-electric solution.

Bradfield College is in Reading and has 820 pupils, spread across 12 houses.

Having partnered with VWFS Fleet since 2019, the college is now committed to a gradual electric transition for its fleet, reinforcing its commitment to a greener future.  

 Toby Ellis, procurement manager at Bradfield College, has led the collaboration with VWFS Fleet, transforming the school’s transport solution.

 He said: “We have a mixed-use fleet to support the different needs of the school. This includes 24 commercial vehicles, which our maintenance team of plumbers, electricians and carpenters use, as well as several minibuses and cars.

“As part of the college’s sustainability vision, we needed to address the role of transport, and how best to move away from diesel- and petrol-powered vehicles and embrace the advantages of electric. By tapping into VWFS Fleet’s expertise and working closely with our account manager, Hallam Smith, I’m delighted to say we’re making excellent progress.”

Bradfield College opted for a gradual fleet transition, so it could balance budgets and vehicle need with wider sustainability targets.

“While the strategic vision to move to a more sustainable transport solution is clear, we had to make sure this didn’t impact the fleet’s performance,” added Ellis. 

“After speaking with VWFS Fleet, who assessed our vehicles’ individual requirements, we identified a key opportunity to transition our maintenance fleet over to electric – which is where we started our transition journey."

The college’s now fully-electric maintenance fleet encompasses a range of vehicles, including Mercedes eVitos, eSprinters and EV 200 Nissans.

 The school will now focus on the small fleet of cars, as well as the minibuses used to ferry Bradfield’s pupils to outside engagements, such as sporting events and other trips.