Australian vehicle subscription provider Splend has rolled out Polestar 2 EVs to its fleet for use by rideshare drivers.
The company’s recent success as the biggest winner of the New South Wales Government’s $105 million Drive Electric fleets incentive (securing $1.8m) as well as support from Polestar, will see Splend have the largest active fleet of Polestars in Australia, it says.
NSW rideshare drivers now have access to a Polestar 2 Long Range and Standard Range EV through Splend’s flexible plan that bundles vehicle, finance, insurance and maintenance into a weekly subscription with the opportunity to eventually own the car outright.
Splend says it is also on track to be the biggest single EV operator in Australia
The company is on a mission to fast-track the rideshare sector to green mobility through the rapid uptake of EVs and has set a target fleet size of 10,000 EVs across its Australian and UK markets by 2024.
Earlier this year, Splend raised A$150 million from purpose-led investment firm Pollen Street Capital to achieve this.
The rollout of EVs in Australia will accelerate rapidly during the next six months and the company says it has several hundred EVs already operating in the UK off the back of this funding.
Splend offers flexible car subscriptions to consumers and is focusing on transitioning the rideshare sector to electric given the amount of emissions generated from the distances driven.
Every time a rideshare driver transitions to an EV, this takes four to five times the emissions off the road than the average consumer driver.
Full-time rideshare drivers drive on average 50,000-60,000km annually and part-time drivers will do around 25,000-30,000km per year.
“Transport is the second highest source of climate pollution in Australia, contributing 20% of overall emissions,” says Splend founder and chief executive Chris King.
“For each on-demand driver we transition to an EV, we’re removing an estimated 8.5 tonnes of tailpipe carbon out of the atmosphere every year.”
Rideshare drivers can sign up for a Polestar 2 plan on Splend’s Flexi Own membership.
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