For the first time, GREENFLEET's EV Rally is crossing into mainland Europe, offering a unique opportunity to explore the charging experience across different countries. With Octopus Electroverse for Business taking the lead as both the headline and charge card sponsor, we caught up with Matt Pretorius to get insight into how preparations for the event are shaping up
Please could you tell us about Octopus Electroverse for Business? Why was it established and what does it offer?
Electroverse for Business is Octopus Energy’s solution for fleet EV charging. We officially launched the product in January 2024 in reaction to experiences we heard from businesses with EVs in their fleet. There just didn’t seem to be a product flexible enough for a quickly transitioning market.
EV business charging is still relatively new, but, already, it’s an industry dominated by a few key players. The problem with market monopoly is that it can lead to a stagnation in innovation - this is the same problem that Octopus Energy faced in 2015 - so, like Octopus Energy, Electroverse for Business is here to shake things up for Business charging.
We’re changing how fleet managers operate; taking the mundane and flipping them into tools that actually benefit businesses (and speed up the electric transition!). For example, Businesses using Electroverse get access to a fleet management platform that stores charging records with a VAT receipt record and time/date/location stamp - a great feature to support fleet managers.
We want businesses to better utilise their charging behaviour and easily identify cost-savings, just like we want drivers to have instant access to whichever charging station they need. EV charging for businesses doesn’t have to be tricky, it can be easy, slick, and intuitive - and we’ve created Octopus Electroverse for Business to prove that.
This is the first time the EV Rally has ventured into mainland Europe. What has made you decide to get involved in GREENFLEET's first Europa EV Rally?
Our consumer product, Octopus Electroverse has been operating in Europe for a while now - in fact, it became Europe’s largest EV charging network (over 920,000 chargers!), back in September 2024. With Electroverse for Business linked to the Electroverse network, a European EV Rally seemed the perfect fit.
EV infrastructure growth in Europe has exploded over the past few years, which, while important for individual EV drivers, is equally important for commercial fleets and businesses. Whether businesses have workplace charging or not, the growth of the public network is paramount to the transition of fleets to 100% electric.
We’re thrilled to get involved this year, as both headline and charging card sponsors, to prove what’s capable on the public charging network across Europe. Hint - it’s a lot!
Please tell us about your team - who is driving and in what vehicles?
We’re still deciding on our vehicles (and team), but rest assured, we’ll be representing the well-known Octopus Pink in a big way!
The Rally will cover 1,600kms over five countries in Europe. Do you have a particular strategy to get you through the Rally smoothly?
Unless you mean creating the best road trip playlist to keep us driving, our strategy is to use Electroverse! We’ll be relying on the route mapping feature to plan our journey and the Electrocard and Electroverse app to start our charging sessions.
Fortunately, these days, long road trips like this don’t take too much planning - for the route mapping feature, all you need is the vehicle make/model, where you’re travelling to, and how much charge you want at your destination - the mapping feature will suggest perfect locations based on your route, charger availability and charging speeds. That’s it!
It’s completely free to use, so if any other teams also want the keys to the winning strategy, I’d recommend having a look, it’s really easy to use.
Electroverse is also joining as the Rally's EV Charge Card partner - please tell us what this involves and how teams will benefit.
Rally teams will benefit by having access to Europe’s largest charging network: Octopus Electroverse!
The Octopus Electrocard (RFID) is one of the best ways to access the Electroverse network by tapping the RFID card on any of our chargers. The other way is to use the Electroverse app. There are over 920,000 chargers compatible with Electroverse - that’s over 1,000 different charging operators all accessible using just one account and card.
Essentially, what that means is searching for chargers that don’t work with the Electrocard is far trickier than searching for chargers that do!
What is the public EV charging infrastructure like in Western Europe where the rally is heading? Are there any areas that may be a challenge to charge?
Not at all! As a team, we’ve driven electric vehicles all across Europe with little to no problems - similarly, the Electroverse community are also taking full advantage of the global network with more and more drivers taking their vehicles on European road trips, much like the Rally.
The public charging infrastructure is very developed in Western Europe. As of 2024, Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, have over 100,000 public charging stations in each market, with the UK following not too far behind.
In fact, for charge points per 100k inhabitants, the Netherlands and Belgium are leading the charge with 1,406 and 883, respectively.
I could go on - but if you want to read more about charging data, I’d suggest heading to the Octopus Electroverse stats page.
Why are events like the EV Rally important for driving up EV adoption?
Misinformation about electric vehicles is still dissuading businesses from starting the electric transition, and the best way to put myths to bed is to physically prove the opposite. It’s very easy to talk the talk, but with something as momentous as EV adoption, getting out on the roads and proving what’s already possible, is very important.
Getting all manner of businesses and vehicles out on a pan-European road trip is a fantastic way to do just that.
Please tell us about Electroverse's future plans?
How long is a piece of string? As the electric vehicle industry evolves, so will Electroverse.
We’re continuously working to make the EV charging transition better and easier, so we’ve got some pretty cool Electroverse for Business features and announcements to shout about in the coming months, so all I can say for now is, keep your eyes peeled.
You’ll hear from us soon!
About Matt Pretorius
Matt Pretorius is Head of Fleet Solutions at Octopus Electroverse for Business.
Following in the footsteps of his automotive background family, Matt brings over 14 years of experience working in the automotive and energy sectors. Working at three vehicle leasing companies, two car manufacturers, and now, two energy companies, Matt blends his passion for cars and his enthusiasm for sustainability.
Bringing his fleet experience together in his current role, Matt leads the fleet proposition at Octopus Electroverse for Business by helping corporate and fleet customers switch from combustion to electric vehicles and supporting customers in how they can switch and what fleet products they will need for the future.