Clean Energy Finance Corporation lends $40m to EV ride share group
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The news: The Clean Energy Finance Corporation will provide $40 million in concessional finance to help EV ride share leasing provider Splend expand its fleet of zero-emissions vehicles.
The numbers: Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced a new $20 million funding package from the green bank which comes on top of a previous $20 million commitment it has already made to Splend.
The transport sector accounted for 22.5% of Australia's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2023, making it the third-largest source.
The context: The previous $20 million commitment allowed Splend to add 500 EVs to its vehicle fleet. Ride share drivers on platforms such as Uber and Didi will access the vehicles through Splend's "Flexi-Own" subscription through which they can buy the vehicle outright within five years, or through a short-term rental contract.
Splend is aiming to fully electrify its vehicle fleet by 2028.
What they said: “Getting more EVs onto our roads with rideshare drivers brings the added advantages of further driving demand infrastructure for EV charging, and has the potential to expand the second hand EV market through sales to private drivers,” CEFC executive director and head of debt markets, Richard Lovell said.
Splend CEO Chris King said: "Over the next five years, Splend aims to transition at least an additional 15,000 rideshare vehicles to EV as more models hit the market and charging infrastructure expands nationwide".
The source: CEFC Media Release
