Features
29 Oct 21

It’s up to all of us to safeguard the planet for future generations

This year, leading automaker Kia is the sponsor of the European Green Fleet Manager of the Year category at the 2021 Fleet Europe Awards. This year’s award ceremony will take place in Brussels on November 10th at a presentation following the Fleet Europe Summit. Mark Howlett, Head of Fleet & Remarketing, Retail Finance at Kia, shared his view on what it means to be a “green fleet manager”.

But before that, following last year’s virtual event, tickets are selling fast for the 2021 in-person summit. There are still a few left, however, so here’s the link for more information and tickets to attend the Fleet Europe Summit

What are the hard and soft wins of a green fleet for the fleet manager, the drivers and the company?

The hard and soft wins are there for all. Hard wins include improving TCO parity for Electrified Vehicles versus ICE powertrains, plus Driver tax savings for choosing hybrid or BEV powertrains. The soft wins would be more on the side of our collective social conscience and playing our role in safeguarding the planet for future generations.

What is your advice to corporate fleet managers who are wanting to start with fleet electrification in Europe?

The first advice is to start. Next to this, define a clear and detailed roadmap, with full stakeholder buy-in, plus a Project Sponsor at Board Level in the business. Fleet electrification is not just talking about efficiency-savings, driver safety and the more traditional topics, rather a 360° shift in compensation and benefits system.   

What are you looking forward to or do you hope to see in terms of focus elements from the finalists of this year’s Fleet Europe Awards? 

As a manufacturer of Electrified Vehicles, it’s always great to see a “step-change” being made in the area of Fleet Electrification, especially when there is a thorough implementation with all stakeholders, at all levels of the organisation. The most effective implementations are those that get the full support and alignment of the entire business.

Authored by: Alison Pittaway