Interviews
11 Feb 19

Mathijs van der Goot leads LeasePlan's electric push

At the start of this year, Mathijs van der Goot (pictured) was appointed Global Lead Electric Vehicles at LeasePlan. Fleet Europe asked him 3 questions with regard to his new position.

What does your new position entail and what are your goals for 2019?

In this role I build LeasePlan’s leadership position in electric mobility by shaping and implementing our EV strategy within the commercial organisation. This entails integrating our business functions to lead in electric vehicles, engage with our customers and shape our LeasePlan charging proposition.

Why does LeasePlan have this position?

As a leasing company with 1.8 million cars on the road, we have a responsibility to do everything we can to move to a zero emission transport industry and tackle climate change. Our aim is to help create healthier environments in our towns and cities by promoting cleaner, low-emission vehicles and the infrastructure required to make these cars a viable option for our customers. We’ve set ourselves the goal of achieving net zero emissions from our total fleet by 2030 and our customers are increasingly asking for electric vehicles as part of their overall fleet and sustainability strategies. With this role we have a clear strategic focus on achieving these goals. Together we can have a big impact. 

How do you see e-mobility evolve in the coming years?

We expect to see an overall 40%-60% annual growth in EVs in our fleet for the coming years, and we therefore need to offer the right solutions for our customers to make it as easy as possible for our customers to make the switch to electric. Our customers are asking for a ‘full package’ EV solution – so the cars plus the charging infrastructure. While the pace and maturity of the uptake of EV differs market-by-market, we encourage our customers to ‘think big, start small and go electric’.

At the 2018 Fleet Europe Summit, Fleet Europe spoke with LeasePlan CEO Tex Gunning about his companies electrification ambitions:

Authored by: Benjamin Uyttebroeck
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