Back in February I wrote about electric-vehicle plans by Merchants Fleet, a Hooksett firm (sister to Merchants Auto) that owns $1.4 billion worth of trucks and vans and limos and cars that its leases to 120 companies in the U.S. and Canada. It manages over 150,000 vehicles nationally.
They are planning to buy 12,600 EV600s, an electric van that will be built by GM as part of a subsidiary called BrightDrop. These are still being designed and built and will be delivered next year (although who knows what the pandemic’s supply chain scrambling will do to that schedule).
NH Business Review has an update story this week (here) about Merchants Fleet partnering with EnelX, an Italian alt-energy firm that has offices in Boston. It will provide charging infrastructure as part of its lease package, including charging stations with the ridiculous-or-maybe-clever name of JuiceBox.
Corporate fleets of vehicles have long been seen as the most likely target for vehicle electrification because they can calculate the cost-of-ownership savings of lower fuel and maintenance payment vs. higher purchase price. They often have predictable runs and return to the same location daily, which makes recharging easier, too.
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