UK retailer Asda plans to move its entire company car fleet of over 600 vehicles to electric vehicles in the next four years.
The initiative will save over 2,411 tonnes of CO2 emissions, or the equivalent of over six million miles driven by an average petrol car.
Asda added that around 85% of its employees, who opted for a company car as part of their benefits package, chose an electric vehicle over the past year.
It means that all petrol and diesel vehicles will be off its fleet by June 2025, well ahead of the Government's ban on petrol and diesel vehicles, which comes into effect in 2030.
'Sustainable Business'
Simon Bell, senior manager at Asda Reward Team, stated, "Reducing our carbon footprint is extremely important to us and our customers, so we are always looking at ways in which we can make a difference and be a more sustainable business.
"We are delighted by the enthusiastic uptake in electric cars by our colleagues over the past few years, and it is a win win, as they are helping the environment as well as reducing their own motoring costs."
Asda's move to an all-electric car fleet is supported by Zenith, the company that has been managing its car and commercial fleet for 20 years.
Field and head office-based employees will be able to choose from a wide variety of makes and models such as the Audi Q4 e-tron, Mercedes EQA and EQC, Tesla Model 3, Polestar 2, Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4 and the Volvo XC40 Pure Electric, the retailer said.
The cost of charging electric cars is around a third of the cost of petrol or diesel, and the company's car tax percentage is just 1%, significantly lower than the petrol alternative.
'Carbon Saving'
Jon Smith, relationship director at Zenith, said, "We worked closely with the team at Asda to model the impact of this move and ensure it met the needs of the business and colleagues.
"Transitioning the fleet to BEVs creates a significant carbon saving for the business, which supports Asda's sustainability agenda and gives colleagues access to a wide range of BEVs that provide the latest technology and cost-effective motoring."
In 2020, Asda reduced its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by more than 16%.
In addition, the company is investing in low carbon technologies across its stores and depots as part of its long-term strategy to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions (relative to 2015 baseline) by 50% by 2025 and ultimately become a net-zero carbon business by 2040.
