In order to honor the goal of reducing emissions, Unidas will increase the fleet with electric vehicles

Bearing in mind the announced commitment to minimize carbon emissions by 2028, the car rental company Unidas allocated BRL 370 million to purchase a fleet of 2 electric cars in 2022, 400 of which are hybrid models. With the acquisition, the rental company will have a total of 2,6 vehicles available to its customers, not only in the fleet outsourcing sector, but also in the leasing area. Unidas has already signed acquisition contracts with automakers such as Renault, BMW and Stellantis, owner of brands such as Fiat and Peugeot.

Read also

• Despite US sanctions, Iran has been shipping gasoline and oil products to Venezuela; duDuring the governments of Hugo Chávez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the countries became strategic allies and more oil began to 'emerge' from the bowels of the Venezuelan subsoil 
• Neoenergia starts assembling the 103 GE turbines, 125 meters high, the equivalent of a 40-story building, of its largest wind farm in Northeast Brazil

According to Breno Davis, head of the fleet area, this attitude is the first of a range of major moves that the company has to electrify its portfolio. Unidas aims to increase the electric car fleet to 80 by 2027. This initiative should total approximately R$ 15 billion in investments over the next five years, considering current vehicle prices.

More than minimizing carbon emissions, Unidas wants to lead the adoption of electric vehicles. “We understand that someone needs to take on this role and lose their fear of investing in this market,” said Davis.

However, the challenges in this segment are great. For the time being, there are still few charging points in Brazil, as well as vehicle resale, which is responsible for a significant portion of the segment's revenue and profitability, and also suffers from the lack of vehicles and also the urban infrastructure itself.

Therefore, Unidas hopes to install 2027 charging points by XNUMX, with the aim of meeting the demand it is creating. This is an initiative that the company already carries out with its fleet management and outsourcing corporate clients. According to Davis, depending on the company's request, Unidas installs chargers in corporate buildings or in executives' homes.

Future plans of the United Rental Companies Network

And this must be the market that Unidas will invest in in the short term. This is because the cars available in the leasing sector are still for customers who want to experience driving an electric vehicle. Even because the prices are higher than renting a combustion vehicle.

Unidas is in the process of merging with Localiza, which is the largest company in the sector in the country. In December, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) approved the union by three votes to two, but with a series of restrictive measures for the company. Among them, companies will need to dispose of all Unidas assets in the leasing sector. The company's main focus, fleet management, was spared.

For Davis, despite so many bureaucracies, it pays off for Unidas to make this move. Unidas received the EV100 seal, a global initiative of companies that are committed to the transition from combustion vehicles to electric models by 2030. In addition, according to the executive, the initiative is part of the ESG agenda and helps in the generation of value to customers.

“Even though we don't have access to the business, we got to know the Localiza team and I'm sure that, with the merger taking place, this agenda will gain even more strength with the new company”, he says.