Unveiled yesterday (22nd October) at the Saatchi Gallery, AlphaElectric is intended to help both private and public sector fleets to make informed decisions on their use of plug-in vehicles.

The service, which is delivered by Alphabet’s eMobility team, comprises four key steps and is “marque neutral”, enabling the Alphabet team to recommend the right solution and vehicle mix for individual business needs.

The launch event included a walk-through tour, highlighting the four elements of the consultancy package, as well as addresses from double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell, OBE, and Caroline Watson of the Energy Savings Trust.

Although UK adoption of EVs has been modest to date, with only 138 units sold in 2010 and 1,082 sold in 2011, Alphabet says it is convinced that a more joined-up approach to EV adoption by employers will help more than double the use of plug-in cars in the UK to over 10,000 in the next three years.

Schooling said: ‘While there is so much talk about limited battery life, car performance and available charging points, we think the single biggest barrier to EV adoption, both privately and corporately, is lack of joined-up thinking. Manufacturers of various new EV models have possibly focused on the benefits of their own vehicles, with not enough time and effort being spent on helping the business or driver to overcome their fears about adopting a new technology.

‘We’re confident that through initiatives such as ours, we will see another marked increase in EV sales again next year in the UK.’