ALD Automotive has signed an international deal with ChargePoint to create a new electric vehicle (EV) charging business in Europe.

The joint initiative aims to create what it has labelled an electric mobility service provider (eMSP) to accelerate fleet electrification.

The new charging business aims to provide fleet drivers with one charging solution for easy access, payments and reimbursement reports.

Drivers will have access to a charging network of over 485,000 charging ports across Europe, with a single dedicated app and charging card offering charging at home, in the office or on the road.

To control and monitor charging expenses, fleet managers will benefit from a consolidated reporting and invoicing solution that provides an overview of all charging costs.

Public, workplace, depot and home charging costs will be provided in one single dashboard to enable further control, it says, helping fleet managers who manage their EV fleets through multi-leasing companies and charging wall box providers.

Tim Albertsen, CEO of ALD, said: “With ChargePoint, our goal is to simplify and facilitate access to EV charging services for corporate fleets.

“This new venture allows ALD Automotive to take an additional stake in the EV ecosystem value chain while further advancing green tech for mobility.

“We believe that this unique charging value-proposition for fleets will be a game changer in accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles. With one of the largest multi-make fleets of electric vehicles worldwide, we take our responsibility of facilitating the energy transition seriously and are set on making sustainable mobility a reality.”

The eMSP will be headquartered in Paris region with go live expected in the final quarter 2023, starting in France and the Netherlands and followed closely by Belgium and Germany, with a subsequent roll-out in eight European countries, including the UK by 2025.

They said that they expect the new business to be progressively extended to further geographies over time, as well as to small and medium companies, leasing companies and private individuals, in addition to carbon brokerage services (vehicle to grid, carbon credits) in the medium term.

“With this agreement, we are expanding our relationship with ALD Automotive, and enabling more businesses to electrify their fleets,” said Pasquale Romano, CEO of ChargePoint.

“Together, ChargePoint and ALD Automotive will enable more businesses and drivers frictionless access to simple and reliable charging, opening up the millions of lease company controlled vehicles in Europe to the EV revolution.”