Octopus secures HSBC UK funding for salary sacrifice scheme

Octopus has secured a multi-million-pound green funding line from HSBC UK to support the growth of its salary sacrifice scheme.

The company will use the funding from HSBC Equipment Finance (UK) to finance its fleet of electric cars for clients offering EVs as a benefit to their employees.

With plans to expand its fleet size by 10-fold year-on-year (YoY), customers will be able to choose from 65 models of new cars across more than 25 brands, HSBC said.

Fiona Howarth, chief executive officer (CEO) of Octopus Electric Vehicles, said: “With over 65 amazing electric cars for drivers to choose from - demand is soaring. And with bigger batteries and more places to charge up than there are petrol stations - not to mention our driveways and community car parks - there’s little to hold people back.

“Our EV salary sacrifice scheme puts employers at the heart of helping their team discover EVs, make the switch, save money and clean up local air. We’re delighted to be working with HSBC to help make this a reality for businesses and their employees across the UK.”

Quartix announces launch of EV planning service

Quartix has announced the launch of Quartix EVolve, a new service designed to help companies manage their transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

EVolve uses GPS data to suggest an EV migration plan and a list of charging point installations needed.

The service takes public information about EV vehicles and chargers and uses an artificial intelligence (AI) solution to create a set of recommendations based on trips, types of vehicles and distances travelled.

The service outlines the potential impact on total cost of ownership (TCO), as well as emission reductions and fuel spend savings.

Customers will also see a ‘best matched vehicle’ list, as well as a list of suggested charging installations points and types of chargers.

Quartix CEO Richard Lilwall, said: “I am delighted to offer EVolve to our customers. This tool will help fleets de-mystify the transition to electric vehicles and enable them to make key decisions based on their own real-world telematics data.”

Grosvenor Leasing named Whistl’s supplier of the year

Grosvenor Leasing has been named its Supplier of the Year 2022 as part of Whistl’s supplier conference.

The award was given at a ceremony in London in recognition of the support from Grosvenor in helping Whistl develop a new company car policy to encourage drivers into ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs).

Grosvenor used whole life expenditure to develop the new car choice list, offering a far better reflection of the true value of choosing ULEVs and EVs, and this enabled Whistl to factor in the long-term outlay while reducing its carbon footprint.

Grosvenor also created a more cost-effective fleet through moving them out of their existing Mercedes Sprinters into Peugeot Boxer vans.

“The team at Grosvenor Leasing has done an outstanding job for Whistl in helping us reduce our vehicle emissions,” said Gareth Hughes, Whistl’s procurement, property and fleet director.

“Their innovative thinking has helped speed up the process of us moving into electric vans and  makes them a very deserved winner of our supplier of the year award in 2022.”

Mary Dopson-Taylor, Grosvenor Leasing’s customer services director, added: “We are thrilled to have won this award as it reflects the hard work, commitment and clever thinking of our 0Zone team who have helped Whistl on their way towards the ultimate goal of a zero emission vehicle fleet.”

Maxus expands dealer network with JS Holmes

Maxus UK is expanding its dealer network with the addition of a new dealership in Wisbech St Mary, Cambridgeshire.

JS Holmes Maxus provides dedicated sales, servicing, and aftersales services to customers in East Anglia.

The addition of JS Holmes, a third-generation family business, brings the number of Maxus dealerships in the UK to 47.

Mark Barrett, general manager of Harris Maxus, said: “We are thrilled to have partnered with JS Holmes bring a new Maxus dealership to East Anglia.

“JS Holmes has been in the motor trade industry for 67 years and counting and has been selling EVs for over 10 years, as EV specialists, we know our brand is in good hands.

“We look forward to seeing more Maxus vans on the road in Cambridgeshire and a successful partnership in the years ahead.”

Dan Cuthuil will head up Maxus sales at the dealership which will feature the full range of Maxus vehicles, including the diesel-fuelled Deliver 9, the electric eDeliver 9 and eDeliver 3.

BCA launch new digital tools

BCA has launched a suite of new digital tools, including upgrades to BCA Search, Partner Finance, MyBCA Selling and Online Proxy Bidding.

The new and upgraded Vehicle Search has a new layout, filtering enhanced features, and improved search results.

There is also a new colour coded summary for BCA Assured and BCA Essential Check reports. The search links to new prompts on the BCA homepage to help buyers locate vehicles by pre-specified criteria, such as newly listed, vendor type or grading.

The BCA Partner Finance Online function provides a way for customers to submit their vehicle transfer requests online directly from within the MyBCA customer portal, allowing customers to manage Partner Finance transfer requests on their auction purchases at BCA.

The MyBCA Selling platform is a new digital tool to view and manage the stock customers sell through BCA.

The dashboard provides an overview of all stock entered by the customer and status updates as vehicles progress through the workflow, highlighting vehicles that will be on sale over the next 24 hours, with search, sort, and notes functions as well as export information to help customers track their sale stock.

BCA’s new online Bulk Proxy Bidding function allows buyers to review and amend their placed bids on stock in BCA’s online sales programme.

Stuart Pearson BCA chief operating officer UK said: “These new digital tools make it even easier for customers to do business with BCA, from the initial search for stock and proxy bidding, to financing their auction purchases and tracking vehicles they are selling.

“These tools introduce efficiencies and streamline service provision for buyers and can be conveniently accessed at any time via BCA Online whenever they are needed.”