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Ride-hailing EV supplier WeFlex looks for new £60m funding to take fleet to 10,000 Mark Bursa WeFlex, which supplies and finances electric vehicles for ride-hailing drivers, is looking to raise £60 million to support its goal of getting drivers to switch to EVs. WeFlex, founded by former Climatecars boss Nicko Williamson (pictured), is an approved Uber Clean Air Plan partner, providing EVs to private hire drivers through a flexible vehicle financing product, where the customer owns the vehicle at the end of the agreement. The Clean Air Fund is currently sitting at £145m. As well as vehicle finance, WeFlex provides the option of short-term vehicle rental to allow ride hailing drivers to get to grips with switching to an EV, as well as insurance, vehicle servicing, PCO licensing and more. The new round of fund-raising will support a strategic goal of reaching a 10,000-strong EV fleet by 2025. WeFlex CEO Nicko Williamson said: “There is a huge and pressing opportunity for WeFlex to play a major part in helping the ride hailing market switch to EVs, helped by Uber’s commitment to be a 100% EV platform in London by 2025 plus clean air zones coming in across major UK cities. We are raising further funding to capitalise on this opportunity, giving WeFlex the ability to scale faster as more ride hailing drivers look to make the switch to EVs.” Currently 70% of WeFlex’s 1,000-strong fleet is battery-electric, Williamson said, with MG
proving to be one of the most popular brands. “We’re big fans of MG, and drivers are finding the cars very reliable in service.” WeFlex has supplied both MG5 and ZS models, and with a range of 250-270 miles, they’re very capable PHVs. As well as MG, Tesla and Korean brands Hyundai and Kia are also proving popular, Williamson said. In particular, the Kia e-Niro is the car that is becoming the ‘electric Prius’ for the private hire market. “The e-Niro is that car at the
moment. It’s at the right price - £30,000, and the specification of the 3 trim level is just right.” Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq5 are making less headway due to their higher price. “They’re not seen as premium brands, whereas Tesla is, so the Tesla 3 is our main premium offering,” Williamson said. Volkswagen ID models, on the other hand, are very difficult to find. “You can’t get the cars, and the lead times are long, so they’re not on our list at the moment.”
motorway high power charging experience to the next level. The company has already installed three High Power Electric Hubs at Swansea, Exeter and Burton-in-Kendal, which consist of six or more high power chargers. A further nine of these are currently under construction. The Electric Hubs have chargers capable of speeds up to 350kW. The sites are on major arterial routes in south Wales, south-west and north-west England. The 350kW chargers can deliver up to 100
miles of range in less than 10 minutes. This month also sees the start of the roll out of the dual charging feature on the medium power chargers on the GRIDSERVE Electric Highway. This improvement enables multiple connectors to be used at the same time, on a single charger, doubling the number of cars that can charge at once at those locations. Gridserve CEO Toddington Harper said: “As an early adopter of electric vehicles myself, the Electric Highway network played an essential role in enabling me to make the switch. However those days are long gone and Gridserve’s focus is delivering an EV charging network fit for purpose to support the mass-market transition to electric vehicles.” Harper said Gridserve Electric Highway had achieved the highest customer satisfaction rating in the network’s 10-year history in Zap-Map’s consumer survey. —Mark Bursa
Gridserve upgrades all of its motorway charging network in just 10 months Gridserve has completed upgrading the old Ecotricity Electric Highway motorway charging network, just 10 months after buying the business. Since June 2021, Gridserve has replaced more than 300 medium-power Electric Highway chargers, some dating back to 2007, at more than 130 motorway service areas run by Extra, Moto, Roadchef, Welcome Break and Westmorland. New rapid chargers – including some 350kW machines – now provide contactless card payment, 24-hour support, and real-time status updates. Gridserve says work continues to drive the
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MARCH 2022
