Today Enel X celebrates a new milestone. Its employees know this and are excited about the ceremony that is about to begin. The delivery of a new fleet of 100% electric cars to employees of the Group in Chile, as well as the inauguration of a parking lot for this type of vehicles called "Green Parking", are a source of pride for everyone in the company, which is committed to demonstrating that electric mobility is increasingly within our reach.
But this is not the first time that Enel celebrates that its employees have access to electric transport. In May 2017, the first 30 employees of the Group took part in this initiative and -with the company's support- bought 100% electric cars with leading edge technology, through a direct purchase model, which also included important benefits such as discounts, installation of a home charger in the comfort of their home, guaranteed buyback price, and maintenance.
Claudio Candia is one of those employees, who, after this first year, gave a positive assessment of his experience: "It is exciting to be part of electric mobility and be able to have an electric car. Nowadays children, like my 6-year-old son Ignacio, are more aware of the protection of the environment and the planet, and my son is very happy about having an electric car in the family. This fills me with satisfaction, even as a father," he says proudly.
Claudio has worked at Enel for 13 years. He said that he signed up to obtain one of these cars after test driving one and then he applied to the contest.
"Electric cars have many advantages over a gasoline car; they are 100% clean, they do not emit any pollution and are about a third cheaper than it costs to drive a gasoline-fueled car. In addition, the model I chose, a Nissan Leaf Zero Emission, has 25% of its components manufactured with recycled materials, coming from household appliances and bumpers, as well as recycled fabrics and bio PET fabric, all free of CO2 emissions," explains Candia.
Making a difference is precisely one of the main motivations of those who have joined this initiative. After seeing the results of the first stage, Rodrigo Valdivia decided to apply for the 2018 process. "Among my friends, my family, there is no other person I know in my immediate environment outside the office who has an electric car. So, of course, I feel like a pioneer, because I am doing something different."
The Nissan Leaf can run for 250 kilometers on one charge. According to Claudio, he can drive all week without any problem. He can charge it in his home, in shopping centers and even on the street, and it takes only 13 minutes to charge the car halfway. "It's that simple," he says smiling.
To the 30 electric cars delivered in 2017, which to date total more than 500,000 kilometers traveled, -avoiding the emission of 85 tons of CO2-, we can add the 11 units delivered on August 21, 2018, consolidating the employees of the Grupo Enel in Chile as owners of the largest fleet of corporate electric vehicles in the country and Latin America.