The CEFC has announced a $20 million investment into Splend to support 500 additional electric vehicles (EVs), boosting the decarbonisation of the national vehicle fleet and rideshare market.
According to the CEFC, this is the first time the organisation has backed a renewable energy solution aimed exclusively at rideshare drivers, who can cover as much as 60,000 kilometres annually.
Splend’s objective to lead the ridesharing sector to zero-emission mobility will be accelerated by the CEFC financing, which will allow Splend to double its EV fleet to about 1,000 vehicles by the end of this year. To convert to an EV, rideshare drivers can sign into a flexible short or long-term vehicle subscription contract with Splend. In addition to lowering transportation emissions, Splend expects the new EVs to help drivers save up to $100 a week on vehicle, fuel, and maintenance expenditures.
“Decarbonising Australia’s car fleet and transitioning fleet vehicles to EVs represent an important opportunity to further accelerate the decarbonisation of the transport sector. High kilometre drivers like those in the rideshare services industry can lead the electrification of Australia’s transport sector, which will also require increased investment in our charging infrastructure to meet demand as momentum in the transition to EVs builds,” CEFC CEO Ian Learmonth said.
“Due to the significant distance that rideshare vehicles travel, transitioning this fleet to EVs marks a significant opportunity to cut transport emissions. This is an exciting change to the way Australians can enjoy the convenience of rideshare services while having a real impact towards achieving zero emissions in our transport sector,” Learmonth explained.
Splend CEO Chris King said: “Splend’s vision is to lead rideshare to a more sustainable future and deliver more affordable vehicle subscriptions to on-demand drivers. With over 100,000 rideshare vehicles across Australia,?of which only one per cent are EVs,?transporting millions of Australians every week, the immediate priority is to focus on the decarbonation of this segment. We are delighted to work alongside CEFC as we work to achieve our global fleet target of 10,000 EVs by 2024.”
King stated that Splend is currently Australia’s sole EV operator, having begun an initial deployment of 500 EVs in Sydney in Q4 2022. Since then, King added that the company’s EVs have driven over 6.2 million km and avoided over 1000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from tailpipes.
CEFC Executive Director and Head of Debt Markets Richard Lovell said: “With Splend drivers making trips for an average 400 customers per month, the uptake of electric vehicles for rideshare fleets will have a significant impact in introducing customers to electric vehicles so they can see first-hand the benefits they offer.”
“Australia’s path to net zero emissions requires transformative change of the transport sector to meet the emissions reduction target of 43 per cent on 2005 levels by 2030. The opportunity to catalyse the transition of the rideshare market presents a significant opportunity to help achieve Australia’s emissions reduction goals,” Lovell stated.
Under the CEFC funding, Splend shall share battery performance and resale prices for the fleet’s Australian vehicles. It will be simpler for fleet operators and fleet financiers to price operating leases and related products in the future as more data on the resale value of EVs is gathered.
