EV charging solutions company Virta has appointed Ross Basnett to enhance its fleet offering.

Ross Basnett joins Virta to enhance its fleet charging solutions portfolio

Basnett has almost 20 years’ experience in the fleet and mobility sector, and joins Virta’s UK operations to build on its work in the fleet sector.

The business delivers smart electric vehicle charging services, and was ranked on the Financial Times’ FT1000 Europe’s Fastest Growing Companies list for the fifth time in a row in 2024.

Virta believes that fleet vehicles hold the key to driving faster adoption of EVs which, in turn, will lead to improvements in charging infrastructure. It supports leasing companies, company car, service and heavy duty fleets through a range of end-to-end charging solutions.

As a full-service provider, the business manages every step of the process until a fleet’s EV charging infrastructure is up and running, including identifying the right chargers, location analysis, hardware installation and charging software.

Basnett joins Virta to enable e-mobility at fleets. His role will include looking at the products and services offered, how they fit with the requirements of fleets today and how these can be further developed.

Basnett said: “The UK team has done a lot of work in this area, so I am coming in with a fresh pair of eyes to look at what more we can do to add value for fleets.”

Basnett began his journey in fleet management with supermarket Somerfield, initially with responsibility for the home delivery team, but eventually looking after the entire fleet of 1,400 vans and cars.

He has since held senior roles with Fleet Operations, The Miles Consultancy, Arval and Mobilleo.

Basnett said the main concern for fleet managers was around the transition of vans to electric power.

“The feeling is that we have more or less cracked it with company cars in terms of capability, suitability, infrastructure and tax incentives. But there is no equivalent for commercial vehicles.

“There is also concern around charging. Many vans are taken to drivers’ homes and parked on-street, with no access to charging, meaning time out of schedules during the working day.”

But innovative solutions are coming, as highlighted by Basnett.

“Industry-wide, battery technology is improving. In the next few years we should begin to see solid-state batteries, which will make EVs cheaper, faster to charge and offer greater range.

“From our side, the energy products that we have today can support things such as priority charging for critical vehicles and we’re looking at innovations such as depot sharing solutions, which would be split between multiple businesses, providing better value and more convenience than using the public charging network.”