Milton Keynes, 9 October 2013: Volkswagen Group (UK) Limited has signed a partnership deal with green energy supplier, Ecotricity, to provide a 100 per cent green energy offer to all customers purchasing an electric-powered vehicle from one of the Group brands.
The announcement comes shortly after the Volkswagen Group’s Chairman, Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, announced on the eve of the Frankfurt Motor Show that the company had its sights set on market leadership in electric mobility by 2018.
The deal, which began with initial discussions with several energy companies in January 2013, sees Ecotricity become the preferred supplier of green energy for Volkswagen Group customers in the UK. This means that any customer purchasing an electric vehicle from one of the Group’s brands will be offered, at point of sale, the option to adopt Ecotricity’s 100 per cent green tariff for their home and vehicle energy supplies.
When Ecotricity was founded in 1995, it became the world’s first ‘green electricity’ company. Its aim is to change the way electricity is made and used in Britain.
Now powering over 75,000 homes and businesses from its growing fleet of wind and sun parks, Ecotricity is a ‘not-for-dividend’ enterprise that, on average, invests more per customer in building new sources of green electricity than any other energy company in Britain.
Commenting on the deal, Andrew Bannister, Head of Environmental Management for Volkswagen Group (UK) said: ‘We’re delighted to be able to offer those customers who are making a choice to purchase an electric-powered car the option to adopt a green energy package, meaning their motoring can be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.
‘We reviewed a number of suppliers and Ecotricity emerged as the best choice for us and our customers. It shares our ambitions for high levels of customer service as well as environmental credentials and we’re confident those choosing an electric Group product will appreciate the benefits this new tariff offers them.’
Ecotricity founder, Dale Vince OBE, said: ‘As someone who drives an electric vehicle, it is important where your fuel comes from. Ideally an electric car should be charged using 100 per cent renewable energy; otherwise you are still powering it from fossil fuels.
‘Running a car on green electricity from the wind and the sun is the last piece of the jigsaw; it’s the ultimate in green motoring. Now you can plug your car into your house at the end of each day and recharge it on renewables, it’s an exciting new world.’
He added: ‘We’re really pleased to be working with Volkswagen, a company which is bringing lots of new EVs to the market and wanted to find the best green electricity to embed as part of its offer to customers buying electric vehicles.’
The first Volkswagen Group electric car to go on sale in the UK will be the Volkswagen e-up! city car. Order books will open in November, with the first deliveries in January 2014. Following this and on sale mid-2014 will be the e-Golf, followed at the end of the year by the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid. Key to the success of these cars will be their ‘normality’: avoiding the compromises which are frequently required when purchasing an alternatively-powered vehicle, these are conventional and existing popular hatchbacks – powered by electricity.