Savings made through an innovative collaborative agreement to help Welsh local authorities transition their fleets to Net Zero.
Local authorities in Wales have embarked on a groundbreaking collaborative procurement initiative to help transition their vehicle fleets to electric vehicles (EVs). This innovative approach, led by the Welsh Government in partnership with the WG Energy Service, resulted in significant cost savings and contributed towards achieving the public sector’s Net Zero targets alongside delivering the goals of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.
It was identified that the purchase of EVs by individual authorities was causing several issues due to challenging market conditions that left customers dealing with rising costs, lengthy lead times, and frequent order cancellations. Recognising the potential to leverage their collective purchasing power, the authorities joined forces to create a larger, more attractive order for suppliers with the ambitions of realising cost savings, reducing lead times and standardising vehicles across the public sector. It was recognised that this would be a challenging process as a collaboration on this scale, for this commodity, had not been attempted before.
The Welsh Government worked collaboratively with key stakeholders from the 12 participating local authorities to develop the procurement strategy and tender documentation, with expert technical input from the WG Energy Service to develop the vehicle specifications. The Society of Welsh Treasurers also played a key role in facilitating the collaboration between the participating authorities.
FleetEV, a Welsh-based SME that specialises in EVs and their ancillary services, are the successful supplier that will soon commence the delivery of the EVs to the participating authorities.
The collaborative procurement achieved remarkable success with the initial order of 236 vehicles providing a £660,000 collective saving compared to traditional procurement routes previously utilised, with further orders in the pipeline. This is in addition to the benefit realisation of reduced lead times, with many vehicles made available immediately, and the sustainability impact of the carbon reductions that will materialise through the use of these new EVs.
Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said:
“It is essential we collaborate and use our existing funding and procurement levers in a more innovative and cooperative way to achieve net zero. This is a really good example of working together to achieve more.”
Jarrad Morris, founder and CEO of FleetEV, said:
“We’re committed to extending the benefits of electric vehicles, cutting carbon emissions, and supporting Wales’s environmental objectives while also delivering a programme of meaningful social value – and we’re thankful to Welsh Government for trusting us to play a crucial part in this initiative for a greener and cleaner Wales.”
This successful procurement initiative has demonstrated the power of collaboration in achieving significant cost savings and environmental benefits whilst establishing a valuable model that can be replicated for future projects across Wales.