ABB: on the road to a fully electric fleet

Cities without noise and cleaner air – that is one of the results of switching to eMobility, according to people from ABB. They know what they’re talking about. ABB has a fleet of ten thousand cars in dozens of countries, with electric cars making up a growing proportion of the fleet.

8. 8. 2024 eMobility

Technology company ABB has cooperated with Volkswagen Group for many years, with ABB supplying sophisticated robotics and automation solutions to the Group’s carmakers. Sustainability plays an important role in ABB’s business, which is why it is not surprising to find more and more Škoda Enyaqs among the firm’s company cars.

There are more and more electric cars in ABB’s fleet.

One of them is driven by Václav Švub, global manager for robotic welding in the automotive industry, who leads five international teams located around the world. He has already clocked up a hundred thousand kilometres since May 2022 in his Enyaq. “In the beginning, of course, you discover new things – how the car behaves and what its range is when it’s raining or cold – and you have to adopt a slightly different approach compared to a car with an internal combustion engine. But I stopped noticing the differences after a while and now I enjoy the feeling of a smooth and quiet ride. And my wife is delighted with the car,” says Václav Švub with a smile.

The biggest benefit of eMobility is for the surrounding area, he believes. “I realised this when I travelled to Shanghai, where there are already more electric cars than cars with combustion engines. When you cross a busy eight-lane street where cars are stopped at red lights and you don’t smell fumes and you hear a completely different sound of the city, you’re left in no doubt why we need to continue the transition to clean mobility.”

Václav Švub

Enyaqs at ABB are used by service technicians and salespeople and as an employee benefit. The cars are traditionally well equipped, but in some countries additional features – like extra front headlights in Nordic countries – need to be purchased. Some service cars need additional equipment such as a shelf in the rear or fittings to hold tools and parts safely in place. Charging infrastructure in company garages is also a must, of course.

Václav Švub, for example, although he charges at home, also often uses the charging facilities at the company and, last but not least, at airports. “Prague airport deserves praise for being very accommodating to electric car drivers. It’s a long way ahead of other large airports. I only use fast chargers on longer trips abroad, and I can honestly say that I haven’t encountered any problems and I’ve always found a free space. I regard the Enyaq as the most successful model in Škoda’s history. It’s a great-looking car, practical, spacious and has the added benefit of an electric motor. I’m looking forward to the new electric models, for example the smaller Elroq, which we will definitely consider as another car for the family,” Václav Švub says.

Vítězslav Lukáš, Managing Director of ABB in the Czech Republic

Initial mistrust followed by delight

Many companies admit that their employees sometimes express mistrust and doubts when switching to electromobility, and ABB is no exception. “We come across concerns, especially when it comes to cost and range. Looking only at the purchase price, an electric vehicle may seem more expensive than an internal combustion engine vehicle, but when you factor in maintenance costs, the electric vehicle clearly wins. We look at all the cost components, such as initial investment, residual value, maintenance, tyres, insurance, energy costs and also the tax advantages that can be made use of in some countries. Many drivers are also concerned about the lack of range. But once they start driving an Enyaq equipped with the largest battery, they find the average range of around 300 kilometres in winter and 400 kilometres in summer, even in colder countries such as Sweden, satisfactory,” says Vítězslav Lukáš, Managing Director of ABB in the Czech Republic.

ABB + Škoda = Škoda EDU.lab

One of the places where ABB has left its mark is the unique Škoda EDU.Lab mobile laboratory. The lab shows visitors what technologies they can find at Škoda and, generally, what they can experience at the Czech carmaker. The lab covers topics like artificial intelligence, cyber security and, of course, everything about cars and electromobility in particular. Students in particular gain an understanding of modern technologies such as robotics, 3D printing and virtual reality, which they would be unlikely to come into contact with in normal school lessons. ABB’s input in the form of the collaborative robot YuMi can be found in the demo workstation created as part of a school project for assembling and mounting flash drives.

He believes that driver training plays a big role, as does planning electric car journeys. Careful planning is mainly needed in countries where charging infrastructure is limited or still developing. “One of our drivers pointed out that it helps to stick within the speed limit, because otherwise the energy consumption is too high; it’s also safer, of course. Another driver came up with an apt comparison: switching from a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle to an electric car is like switching from a traditional mobile phone from the late 1990s to a smartphone. Torque, braking and quiet operation – that’s where electric cars are unmatched,” adds Ricardo Koevoet, head of purchasing for the global fleet.

The Enyaq doesn’t need hyping

And then how does it work when the company offers the Enyaq as an employee benefit? “In the past, it was difficult in some countries, such as Sweden, to make employees want Czech cars. But this isn’t a problem with the Enyaq. Most of our Enyaqs are used in this Scandinavian country. And our fleet in Portugal has been almost 100 percent Enyaq since last year,” Koevoet points out.

ABB uses Škodas in Sweden, for example.

As a global group, ABB has made a commitment to switch its entire fleet of over 10,000 vehicles to electric vehicles by 2030. “I expect Czechia to achieve that goal earlier. We are aware of our responsibility not only for our own indicators, but also for the transformation of the entire automotive market. ABB is a major provider of infrastructure for electromobility, especially charging stations. In the Czech Republic we’re the market leader in this field,” says Vítězslav Lukáš, and Ricardo Koevoet adds that Škoda is also the most represented brand in ABB’s global fleet, accounting for almost 18% of the company’s cars. Roughly half of these vehicles are Škoda Octavias. The number of electric Enyaq cars is also gradually increasing, with more than three hundred now operating under the ABB flag.