YHI, who have been operating in New Zealand’s automotive industry since 1995 initially supplying wheels out of a single warehouse in Auckland, is now a much broader distribution business.
Today, YHI supplies a comprehensive range of automotive and specialist energy products from eight local warehouses to businesses across New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
As the supplier of the first significant corporate charging solution rollout in New Zealand in 2015, the team at YHI Energy has been at the forefront of fleet electrification.
Jasmine Roxborough – Business Development Manager for EV Charging Solutions – has seen it all over the past seven years.
“The rapid evolution of this industry has resulted a wild ride for us early players. While the end goal of charging a vehicle hasn’t changed, the granular visibility and control/management capabilities of charging infrastructure certainly have,” she says.
“Thanks to the ever-increasing variety of vehicles available to New Zealanders, usage patterns of charging stations have changed too. What used to be a simple ‘one charger per EV’ approach is now a considered discussion on driving profiles, dwell times and vehicle capabilities.
“Charging stations – whether it be a commercial/corporate site or at drivers’ homes – are now, more than ever, an integral part of fleet, site and driver management considerations.”
YHI Energy has developed a well-established process to help fleets through their electrification journey. Whether it’s a purely business location, home-based or hybrid solution, YHI Energy has the hardware, the software and the expertise to ensure vehicles are charged safely and reliably with or without central management solutions.
“Often one of the biggest barriers to electrifying a fleet is building the infrastructure. We have great options to maximise the existing power supply, from residential through to large complex commercial sites,” explains Jasmine.
“Our experience in supplying back up power systems, renewable energy solutions and energy storage opens up discussions about attractive alternatives to the traditional and often prohibitive mains supply upgrade.”
Fleet electrification is more than just ordering EVs. The stakeholders involved in these projects often have diverse requirements.
To address this, YHI works with all relevant departments to understand these unique challenges and help navigate them. Their approach is flexible and customer centric, this being the only way to ensure Fleet, Facilities, Sustainability, HR, Health and Safety and IT Managers have their unique needs met.
“There can be a lot of moving parts with these projects, but we firmly believe in putting the right framework in place from day one,” Jasmine says, “establishing the best fit for both current and future requirements, challenging the status-quo to ensure the best outcome and educating and enabling stakeholders and drivers alike.
“The last thing anyone wants is a bad charging experience resulting in employees not embracing our electrified future.”
Talk to YHI Energy today about your EV charging strategy on 0800 99 33 44 or visit the ev@yhi.co.nz website.
