The Springfield Group, one of Scotland’s leading housebuilders, has launched a new purely-EV company car scheme, as part of wider plans to transition its full fleet to electric.

More than half the orders placed since the scheme was launched have been delivered

The group’s Glassgreen Hire plant and transport subsidiary has partnered with Lex Autolease for the new EV offering, which has already seen take-up levels said to be industry-leading.

Rolled out to the group’s 235 eligible employees in September 2021, the scheme has already secured 135 orders, of which more than half have been delivered. Popular models include the Mercedes EQA and EQC, BMW iX3, Volkswagen ID.3 and Peugeot e-208.

The move forms part of the housebuilder’s long-term plans to reduce the emissions of its entire fleet to zero. Moving towards an EV fleet will allow the Springfield Group to cut emissions by an estimated 5.2 tonnes of CO2 for every vehicle replaced. It will also enable the business, which previously only offered car allowances, to reduce costs across its fleet.

To support uptake and support charging across Scotland, the group has installed banks of EV charge points at its offices in Elgin and Larbert near Falkirk and Dawn Homes office in Glasgow, with further points planned for its Tulloch Homes office in Inverness. It is also investing in temporary mobile charging points, which are available to employees at major construction sites, and helped employees with guidance on accessing the Government’s former Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme to help fund the installation of chargers at their homes.

The housebuilder is already running a fully electric van as part of its net zero journey, with two further nine-seater EVs on order. Specialist commercial vehicle fleet engineers at Lex Autolease will also continue work with Glassgreen Hire to help drive its efforts.

Shona Murray, corporate relationship manager at Lex Autolease, said Springfield’s EV-only car scheme was a major success story.

“From board level to site managers and office staff, it is clear that everyone across the business is invested in helping reduce its environmental impact, and this has been reflected in the impressive uptake figures, with almost half of all eligible employees choosing to switch to electric.

“It is fantastic that Springfield is helping to strengthen the UK’s charging infrastructure, as well educating colleagues on how to affordably access charging in their own homes. I hope that this will drive long term sustainable behaviour change and encourage more people to make the switch in future.”