Unlocking electrification: How ALD Automotive and ChargePoint are building the future?
Fleets are going through one of the biggest challenges since the pre-pandemic era: keeping costs low while electrifying vehicles.
ALD Automotive and ChargePoint, the leading providers of car leasing and charging infrastructure in Europe, combined their expertise and resources in 2019 to address this issue. The collaboration expanded to Germany in summer 2022, providing an all-in-one solution for ALD Automotive customers through the infrastructure of ChargePoint.
“What we’ve seen in the past two years is the beginning of truly exponential growth”, says Frederic Wagner, Manager, Fleet Partnerships, ChargePoint. “Fleet electrification is ramping up in Europe and without a comprehensive charging solution, not only in terms of hardware, but also in terms of the right software, the transition is much more challenging than it needs to be. It’s about having a charging solution that allows you to understand your EV fleet’s total cost of ownership, whether it is public, workspace or home charging.”
The collaboration is aimed at eliminating the unknowns about e-charging. “By providing a straightforward app, card and a vast network of charging stations, the fear completely disappears”, says Nick Wise, former Head of EV Development at ALD Automotive.
« ALD Automotive provides full consultation to its customers in the electrification process, while fleets gain access to hundreds of thousands of public places to charge on the ChargePoint network across Europe. According to Frost & Sullivan’s Innovation Generator data intelligence platform, ChargePoint has strategic coverage of charging points in residential areas, inner-city roads, highways, and public places.
Removing the biggest challenge
ALD Automotive and ChargePoint’s strategy depends on providing full visibility into the fleet’s electrification plans. How does it work? “By providing access to the crucial data”, says Wagner. “Fleets can’t calculate the most efficient charging plan without the relevant data and input variables.”
ALD Automotive and ChargePoint provide customers solutions to enhance their electric fleet operations. These provide fleet managers a ‘charging control system’ that offers complete transparency by monitoring all charging sessions and charging stations while considering cost, available energy supply, vehicle telematics data, and operational fleet schedules. Thus, a fleet manager can:
- Minimize charging cost by steering their fleet’s ideal charging behavior across home, workplace, depot and public charging,
- Optimize the charging plan for specific vehicles depending on their operational schedules,
- Schedule charging at times that reduces peak demand charges and utilizes lower utility rate windows.
Guiding the young e-charging market
ALD Automotive and ChargePoint enable fleets to pinpoint their needs and set a clear date to become electrified at a certain rate. Yet, there are essential elements fleet managers must realise:
- Seek expertise to begin your electrification journey,
- Know which questions to ask,
- Begin with a pilot program and experience charging solutions. The expertise of ALD Automotive and ChargePoint is essential for supporting fleet operations in Europe, giving courage and confidence to all fleet managers to succeed.
For more information about electrification and e-charging, contact: consultancy@aldautomotive.com
[Article published in Fleet Europe E-Book - October 2022: E-Book: Charging Solutions for your 2022 Fleet | Fleet Europe]