Fleet solutions provider Rivus is ramping up its electric vehicle charging capacity across its garage network to cater for the evolving needs of fleet operators. 

Rivus has reached a milestone in rolling out an upgrade to its electric vehicle charging capabilities to service the future of commercial fleets

Its 78-strong independently owned garage network already has EV service, maintenance and repair (SMR) capability, but the business has also installed 45 new electric charging points across nine of its sites this month. These include key locations such as Leeds, Bristol, Southampton, Heathrow, Manchester and Enfield.

And this first phase of major investment will be followed up over the rest of 2022; by the end of this year, 30 sites will have been completed, providing over 150 new charging points, each enabling five vehicles to be charged overnight in technician bays.

The whole project is expected to be completed by 2024 and the investment has been supported by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) workplace charging scheme (WCS) grant, which is open to eligible businesses, charities and public sector organisations for up to 40 sockets.

Sarah Gray, head of alternative fuel vehicles at Rivus, said: “If an electric vehicle is in and needs diagnosing, it needs charging and a technician with the relevant skills to assess and repair. Therefore, we are investing now in our infrastructure and the training of our technicians so we can deliver the best service and equipment for our EV customers.

“This is a significant investment as well as a huge practical undertaking, with some major logistical challenges. However, we are keeping all our garages open as normal throughout the works. The only downtime will be outside working hours and at weekends, so customers will not be inconvenienced at all.”

As well as offering a dedicated team to support fleets going electric, Rivus is also supporting operators on their decarbonisation journeys with a range of insights reports. These cover topics including battery health, the effects of temperature and the true cost of an EV fleet.

It’s also sharing details of its infrastructure charging project so people can read a first-hand account of the company’s learnings to date.

The reports are available online or fleets can speak to a Rivus EV specialist.