Gridserve, a UK provider of electric vehicles and EV services, has launched Gridserve Electric Vehicle Solutions, the UK’s first net-zero electric vehicle leasing business, in partnership with Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc, the company said in a statement.

Besides the launch of the service, Gridserve has opened, in Essex, the UK’s first all-electric charging forecourt. The site is the first of over 100 EV forecourts being built by the company over the next five years.

Gridserve Electric Vehicle Solutions

Gridserve Electric Vehicle Solutions is designed to bring the cost of driving electric well below that of petrol or diesel cars and minimise the environmental impact of EVs, the company said in a statement.

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Net zero-carbon energy is included in monthly leasing payments, meaning drivers can charge at Electric Forecourts without paying any additional costs. This removes a key barrier to mass EV adoption, enabling people to accurately compare the cost of leasing a petrol or diesel vehicle, plus fuel, with an electric vehicle with fuel included.

This reflects the true overall cost to the consumer, which in most cases demonstrates a lower cost for EVs than petrol or diesel vehicles, the statement said. This is expected to benefit the 40% of UK drivers without access to off-street parking who would otherwise have to rely on less dependable and typically more expensive public charging infrastructure compared to charging at home.

For those who lease through Gridserve, charging at an Electric Forecourt is cheaper than home charging because energy is already included in monthly leasing payments, the company said.

Toddington Harper, founder and chief executive of Gridserve, said: “Together with our Solar Farms and Electric Forecourts, Gridserve Electric Vehicle Solutions completes our ‘sun-to-wheel’ infrastructure designed to deliver net zero carbon transport from 2020 onwards. By including the planting of 100 trees for every electric vehicle leased through the service and providing net zero-carbon energy to charge all the vehicles, we’re making EV driving greener, cheaper and more straightforward than ever before.”

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Hitachi Capital (UK) plc’s loan facility has helped make the UK’s first Electric Forecourt a reality, the company said. The Braintree, Kent, site will be the first of over 100 sites to be built by the company in the next five years, as part of a £1bn programme part-funded by Hitachi Capital UK.

Robert Gordon, chief executive of Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc, said: “Our partnership with Gridserve is a total game-changer for electric mobility. Not only are we providing EVs at some of the most competitive rates on the market, but we are at the same time developing a network of rapid, reliable and renewably powered Electric Forecourts that will fast-track the electric vehicle revolution in the UK as we prepare for a zero-carbon future.”

Gridserve and Hitachi Capital (UK) Plc plan to offer electric vehicles from all major vehicle manufacturers. At the time of launch, available brands included Audi, BMW, DS, Mercedes-Benz, MG, Mini, Nissan, Renault, and Volkswagen.

Gridserve is the trading name of Gridserve UK OMM Ltd and was incorporated in November 2017.