SIXT van & truck is taking two electric vans into the Welsh countryside for this year’s EV Rally Cymru, putting range, performance and charging to the test. Managing director Yvonne Gabler explains how the Rally will provide an opportunity to put the company’s own EV approach to the test, while challenging perceptions about electric vans
Following your participation as a checkpoint in the Explorer Rally last year, we are delighted that SIXT van & truck are joining us for your first Welsh Rally. What motivated you to participate?
Following our involvement as a checkpoint last year, taking the next step and entering our own vehicles and teams into the Rally felt like a natural progression. We saw first-hand the excitement and buzz surrounding the event and wanted to be part of it, while showing our customers just how far EV adoption has come and that electric vans really can have a place in commercial operations. There’s no better way to demonstrate that something works than by putting it to the test!
The Rally also comes at a particularly exciting time for SIXT van & truck following our appointment to the Welsh Government Vehicle Hire IV Framework earlier this year. We want to build our presence in Wales, meet and engage with organisations across the public and private sectors and, importantly, demonstrate what electric commercial vehicles are capable of in real-world conditions.
There is still a perception that electric vans are only suitable for very specific operations or short, predictable urban journeys. We want to help challenge that. We know and understand that EVs will not be the right answer for every vehicle, every route or every business, but the technology and charging infrastructure have developed considerably.
For many organisations, electric vans can now offer a practical way to reduce emissions, support sustainability goals and potentially lower operating costs.
Our approach is consultative and data-led. Using telematics, we can analyse how customers' existing vehicles are actually being used and identify where EV adoption could work within their operation. Rather than asking businesses to make decisions based on assumptions, we can use their own fleet data to show where an electric vehicle could be a practical fit and what the potential benefits could be.
The Rally gives us an opportunity to put that approach into practice and demonstrate what is possible, rather than simply talk about it.
Please tell us about team SIXT van & truck - who will be driving and in what vehicles?
We’re entering two SIXT van & truck teams into the Rally, with two team members in each vehicle, and we’re expecting a little friendly competition along the way!
One van will represent our Sales team and the other our Operations team, with both teams taking on the Rally in matching Vauxhall Vivaro Electric vans from our own fleet.
Having both sides of the business involved was important to us. Our Sales team works directly with customers to understand their fleet requirements and help them identify the right vehicles for their operation, while our Operations team sees first-hand what it takes to keep those vehicles on the road and businesses moving.
The Rally gives both teams the opportunity to experience the vehicles, routes and charging network for themselves. That first-hand experience is incredibly valuable when we’re talking to customers about electrification. We don’t just want to tell businesses what an electric van can do, we want our own people to experience it, understand the practicalities and share what they learn.
And, of course, we’ll be keeping a close eye on whether Sales or Operations comes out on top!
As much of Wales is rural, are there any aspects of the EV rally that you expect to be challenging? If so, how are you planning to address them?
The rural nature of the route is certainly going to make the Rally an interesting test, but that’s part of what makes taking part so valuable for us. We want to experience the realities of running electric vans across a varied route, rather than only demonstrating them in ideal conditions.
Naturally, range and access to charging will require more consideration in rural areas, so planning will be important. We’ll be looking carefully at the route, charging opportunities and the range available to us throughout each stage, while also experiencing first-hand just how much the public charging network has developed.
These are the same practical considerations we encourage businesses to look at when considering EV adoption. It isn’t simply about the advertised range of a vehicle, it’s about understanding the journeys you actually make, where and when vehicles can charge, how they are utilised and whether an EV can comfortably fulfil that particular role.
We’re looking forward to putting that into practice in Wales. If anything, the more varied and challenging parts of the route will give us a better opportunity to demonstrate what electric commercial vehicles and the charging infrastructure are capable of today.
The EV Rally is aiming to bust some EV myths and misinformation this year – is there a particular EV myth you would like to challenge on the rally?
One of the biggest myths we would like to challenge is that electric vans simply aren’t practical for business use. For businesses reluctant to consider EV adoption, practicality is often one of the first concerns raised.
Commercial vehicles have a job to do, so businesses are understandably focused on range, charging, payload, utilisation and keeping vehicles on the road. Those are all valid considerations, but they don’t automatically rule out electric. If anything, introducing EVs can encourage greater planning, efficiency and a more proactive approach to how vehicles are used across an operation.
The reality is that EV technology and charging infrastructure have developed considerably, and there are already many commercial operations where electric vans are working successfully. We only need to look at major fleet operators such as Royal Mail and Tesco, which have incorporated electric vans into their operations at significant scale, to see that there is a viable role for them. The key is understanding where they fit and ensuring teams know how to get the best from them.
That’s why we advocate a data-led approach to electrification. Rather than assuming an EV will or won’t work, we can look at how a vehicle is actually being used, including its daily mileage, journeys and utilisation, to identify where electric could be a practical alternative. We can then support that with an EV trial, giving businesses the opportunity to experience the vehicle within their own operation before making a longer-term decision.
Hopefully, by taking two electric vans across Wales and experiencing the practicalities for ourselves, we can show that electric vans deserve to be part of the conversation for more businesses. It’s not about saying every van should be electric. It’s about challenging the assumption that they can’t be.
Some of the checkpoints will showcase innovation and clean energy - why is this important?
The transition to lower-emission transport is about much more than just the vehicles themselves. For businesses to adopt electric vehicles with confidence, we need the technology, charging infrastructure, clean energy and supporting services to develop alongside them.
That’s why showcasing innovation throughout the Rally is so important. It gives businesses an opportunity to see how quickly the wider EV landscape is evolving and how the different elements work together to make electrification a real possibility for commercial operations.
For us, sustainability also has to work operationally and commercially. Businesses have environmental targets to meet, but they still need vehicles that can do the job, keep their teams productive and make financial sense. Clean energy and continued innovation can help bring those priorities together, reducing carbon emissions while creating opportunities to operate fleets more efficiently and reduce costs.
There has already been significant progress, but innovation needs to continue. The more the vehicles, infrastructure, energy and technology develop together, the easier it becomes for businesses to make confident, informed decisions about where electrification can work for them.
And finally, please tell us about SIXT van & truck’s future plans – any exciting developments on the horizon?
There’s a lot happening at SIXT van & truck, and we’re incredibly ambitious about what comes next.
We’re continuing to grow our presence across the UK, with the public sector becoming an increasingly important part of that journey. Our appointments to both the Welsh Government Vehicle Hire IV Framework and the Scotland Excel Vehicle & Plant Hire Framework this year are significant milestones and reflect our ambition to build longterm partnerships with public sector organisations across the UK.
We’re also investing in our physical network. This year we opened our newest depot in Tewkesbury, expanding our UK footprint and strengthening our ability to support customers across the country. Here in Wales, our framework appointment gives us an exciting opportunity to build new relationships and demonstrate what we can offer as a long-term commercial vehicle partner.
Electrification will continue to be an important part of our plans. We’re investing in our electric fleet and have introduced EV demonstrators, allowing customers to trial electric vans within their own operations and make decisions based on real experience and data. Our focus is on helping customers understand where and how EVs can work effectively within their fleets.
Technology is another major focus. Through our Drive+ connected fleet packages, we’re giving customers greater visibility of their fleets, with data supporting safety, utilisation, efficiency, predictive maintenance and EV readiness. We’re also introducing in-vehicle camera solutions with AI capabilities to provide greater insight and support a more proactive approach to driver safety and risk management.
For us, it’s about bringing together intelligent technology, data and the experience of our people to give customers genuinely useful insight.
Ultimately, our future plans come back to listening to our customers and continuing to develop around what they need from us. We’ve grown significantly in a relatively short period of time, but maintaining the personal service and genuine customer relationships that have helped us grow is incredibly important to us, and something we’re determined not to lose.