OFFERING customers greater flexibility meant more miles on the fleet. So housebuilders Avant Homes decided to turn its sales force electric to balance the increased mileage of its company cars.
A fleet of 30 Honda e electric vehicles has now been supplied to its regional sales teams. It’s part of a new commitment by the homebuilder to meet prospective buyers by appointment only at their preferred location, whether that is at a development, their home, or the workplace.
The leasing agreement for the fleet was handled by Lex Autolease, the UK’s largest leasing company, and supplied through car retailer Stoneacre Chesterfield.
Avant Homes builds approximately 2000 homes a year with 60 live developments across the Midlands, Yorkshire, north east England and Scotland. Avant Homes says the new fleet will enable it to provide prospective homebuyers with a more mobile and accessible sales service.
Avant Homes Chief Executive Officer, Colin Lewis, said they learnt a lot during lockdown about how best to continue to provide customers with exceptional service tailored to their needs.
“We identified that our customers need greater flexibility due to the changing circumstances they face and that we needed to evolve our sales function. We wanted to be able to meet our customers wherever was most convenient for them, so our idea was to be able to take Avant Homes to them on demand, and this led us to securing and introducing our new fleet of Honda e cars.
“We chose the Honda e so that we could not only provide our people with a state-of-the-art vehicle, but also minimise the environmental impact of the increased travel our sales team will be undertaking. The car’s contemporary and exciting design also appealed to us due to our desire to be a housebuilder that is different from the competition.
“We were clear from the outset that we wanted to support a local business to help deliver this initiative, so we are very pleased to have been able to partner with Stoneacre Chesterfield to acquire the new fleet.”
The Honda e – zero emission and low company car taxation make it suitable for SME fleets
Why Choose The Honda e For Your SME Fleet?
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Launched in 2020, the Honda e is the first electric Honda to be sold in Europe.
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It won the City Car of the Year category in the Sunday Times Motor Awards 2020 for its unique combination of dynamic performance, refined comfort and futuristic technology. The modern, minimalist cabin is spacious and uncluttered to create a comfortable ‘lounge-like’ feel.
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The Honda e is powered by a water-cooled 35.5kWh lithium-ion battery that can be charged using either a Type 2 AC connection or a CCS2 DC rapid charge. The car has a range of up to 137 miles. The battery can be charged to 80% capacity in only 30 minutes by a rapid charger.
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Fully electric company cars are exempt from company car tax in the 2020-21 tax year, before rising to 1% in the following tax year.
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A company car driver at the 20% threshold would pay £0 in tax up to April 2021; and then only £59 for the full 2021-22 tax year.
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