20 December 2017

One step closer to being sustainable – driving electric vehicles

Mainfreight has always committed itself to reducing the environmental impact of its operations. We have implemented strategies including installing rain gardens, utilising rainwater, recycling greywater for truck washing and using solar power including 690 solar panels in our Hamilton facility, making it one of the largest private solar installations in Australasia.

You would have noticed there are more electric vehicles (EV) on the road than ever before. More EV charging zones being installed at local petrol stations and ever increasing hype around EV technology. There are about 1.3 million electric vehicles on the road around the world and the era of the electric vehicles is here. Over the years, we have implemented hybrid fleets for team members on the road, now advancing our commitment one step further. After our team trialled various electric cars, we have welcomed a fully electric vehicle with zero emission to the team. The 2017 Nissan Leaf supplied by GVI Electric and Fleetpartner.

How the Nissan Leaf works,

The fully electric car runs off high capacity batteries which are charged through the bonnet. There are two ways to charge. The first is a portable charger which runs from a three point plug. This is considered a ‘drip feed charger’, well suited to overnight charging as it need longer time to charge fully. The second is a much more heavy duty charger which is what you often see at charging stations and most recently installed at our Railway Branch. This fast charger can charge 30% every 10 minutes charging using our depot charging stations.

The maximum distance Leaf can drive between charging is about 180/200km.

We are committed to minimising our environmental impact where practicable. Each region has its own uniqueness and characteristics and as time and technology advances, one day we may perhaps be able to expand our fleets across the business.

Keep an eye out for our new and expanding EV fleet on the road.