Schneider Electric Accelerates into Green Future with Five Year Partnership with Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions

- New partnership will provide charging solutions for fleet and personal customers -

Schneider Electric has today announced an exclusive five year partnership with Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions to provide complete electric vehicle charging solutions to their fleet and personal customers. This partnership will help make electrical vehicles more commercially viable for business fleets and enable organisations to hit green targets. The partnership is for all makes and models of BEVs (Battery Electric Vehicles) and PHEVs (Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) from all major vehicle manufacturers.

Conventional cars with internal combustion engines are relatively inefficient with 80% or more of the fuel energy lost through wasted heat and noise. Over recent years, much of vehicle manufacturers' focus has been on reducing the emissions and improving fuel efficiency of petrol and diesel engine vehicles. However, the need to further reduce emissions and meet CO2 targets has driven car manufacturers to focus on engine efficiencies and invest in the future of electric cars. Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions prides itself on enabling their customers to take full advantage of new technology and ensuring we live in a greener, cleaner future.

The rise in electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles over the last 12 months has been significant. In 2014 the UK market saw a growth of over 200% in terms of vehicle sales and 2015 is on track to exceed this figure. Furthermore, on the 22nd of July, London Mayor Boris Johnson announced an ambitious electric vehicle strategy for London, which set out a wide range of actions to support the uptake of electric and ultra-low emission vehicles.

Although electric vehicles bring a host of benefits, from a £5,000 Government grant to congestion charge exemption, zero road tax, and fuel costs from just 2p-per-mile, practicalities in charging have acted as a barrier for many. Schneider Electrics partnership with Hitachi Capital aims to combat these barriers by:

Setting standards of electrical vehicle charging services that guarantee a high end customer experience and service

Full management of the end-to-end customer journey using Schneider Electric management process tools

Residential charge point installations using the Schneider Electric EVLink range of products

Schneider Electric will also be able to provide charging solutions to corporate customers of Hitachi Capital at their workplaces and depot networks

David Greaves, business development director at Schneider Electric made the following comments; We believe that working together in partnership with Hitachi Capital, will help promote a higher standard of experience for the customer. The benefits are enormous and range from access to easy, safe and high performance charging to helping make Britain a cleaner, greener place. At Schneider Electric we are committed to reducing carbon and creating a sustainable and ethical business. This has resulted in us achieving a top 10 position of the most sustainable corporations in the world and we are delighted to bring this to the partnership.

Tim Bowden, Head of Operations at Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions added; At Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions, we pride ourselves in providing a quality, partnered, efficient process and service for our customers. We were looking to work with an organisation that shared our passion for providing high-quality service. Schneider Electric share the same ethics as Hitachi Capital and was a natural choice. Hitachi Capital's appetite for new technology keeps us and our customers at the forefront of innovation and this partnership will further enhance our technological skills.

Schneider Electric products and installation services are fully approved by the government and The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) for the provision of Electric Vehicle home charging. Schneider also fully manages the subsidy claim process on behalf of the end users to minimise the administration for them.

LINK:	http://www.schneider-electric.co.uk/sites/uk/en/company/news/news-view...
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