All Purpose Transport gets first electric trucks

By Fleet EV News Team 

CarBon Rental & Leasing – Australia’s first purely Electric Vehicle leasing, subscription & rental company – has partnered with All Purpose Transport (APT) to transition the organisation’s vehicle fleet to zero emissions alternatives.

One of Queensland’s largest, privately owned transport & logistics organisations, APT has joined forces with CarBon to lead the EV charge, starting with four Foton iBLUE Electric trucks, with more to follow.

Paul Kahlert, Chief Executive Officer of All Purpose Transport said the new electric trucks would arrive in January 2023, with more coming online throughout the year.

“These electric trucks are just the beginning of a broader strategy to encourage our contractors to move to lower emissions vehicles,” Mr Kahlert said.

“We’re taking the lead in the last mile delivery sector and CarBon has helped guide us through the transition and implementation process,” he said.

According to Mr Gillespie, the COVID pandemic has created a shift in consumer behaviour, with increased online shopping leading to greater demand for last mile delivery services.

“The last few years has seen a dramatic jump in e-commerce retail sales, which has fuelled a massive surge in last mile deliveries. This market is expected to grow by more than 10% year-on-year into 2027,” he said.

Transport makes up more than 19% of Australia’s carbon emissions annually and with stronger emissions targets in place, large retailers have set their own targets, driving delivery partners to shift to EVs.

“The key to transitioning effectively is collaboration between industry, government and innovative start-ups,” Mr Gillespie said.

“CarBon’s subscription offering is perfect for drivers, contractors and organisations as there’s no CAPEX, no high debt, an all-inclusive weekly price and you can drive up to 1,400 kilometres per week.

Scott Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Carbon Rental & Leasing said the iBLUE truck would be a game changer for the light duty truck market.

“Already the transport industry is quickly moving to reduce its carbon emissions and these vehicles have the power and capacity to reliably compete with a diesel equivalent, so they’re going to have an immediate positive impact,” he said.

“If Australia is going to reach its 2030 emissions targets, EV transition initiatives will be crucial to achieving those goals,” he said.