My Mercedes-Benz for Business

Are you looking into a zero emissions future? Do you think next year will be the year you or your business decide to go all-electric? We love getting to know our wonderful customers, so today we’ll be grabbing an insight from our Business customer, Mr Read. Mr Read purchased an all-electric EQB at Mercedes-Benz of Exeter for his business, Heat Radiation, last year. Let’s learn a little bit more about why he decided to switch to an EV and see how it has been suiting his lifestyle.

Why did you choose to go all-electric with your company car?

On average, I travel around18,000 miles per year for business. Before I purchased my EQB, I supplied my own car and fuel. This meant that I ended up reclaiming my mileage at about 45p per mile from the business. This wasn’t cost effective for myself but it also wasn’t efficient for the business. I tend to upgrade my vehicle every three years, my previous diesel vehicle was coming up to an age where the manufacturer’s warranty was soon to expire and I would also soon start to need to pay for MOTs, so thought it would be a good idea to experience the EV option of transportation.

How does the mile range suit your lifestyle?

Really well actually. I very rarely use the public charging network as I have access to a 7.5 KW charger at home and at work. In my personal life, my family and I regularly drive from Exeter to Cornwall and have never had any issues on the journey. During the summer I can easily achieve 240 – 250 miles on a full charge at sensible speeds with the air conditioning on and for some reason my partners heated seats on full power! I’m currently experiencing my first winter in the EQB, the range does drop off a little. I’ve seen maximum ranges of 200 – 220 miles which still fits nicely within my usage profile and works for me.

We took up the kind offer of the test drive and we are so glad we did. My partner hates car shopping, (personally I love it) but as soon as we left Mercedes-Benz of Exeter, we looked at each other and Paula said “this is really nice isn’t it”. That’s a massive compliment I assure you! To summarise, the experience of driving the car coupled to the inviting environment the staff create at Mercedes -Benz of Exeter drew us in. No pressure at all to purchase, friendly knowledgeable people, and a gorgeous product. We are totally sold, very happy and humble to be fortunate enough to own this car.

Have you found that an all-electric vehicle is more economic?

In my case, yes. My business now pays for the car on a monthly lease which is much more tax efficient for the company than our previous travel strategy.  I now pay a benefit in kind of 2% of the P11D value of the car. Overall, not only am I paying less tax but charging my EQB at home and at work is still cheaper than putting fuel in my old car.

Why would you recommend Mercedes-Benz South West?

We live in Exminster so location is important but honestly after the fantastic experience with the staff, if we moved further away we would still travel to use Mercedes-Benz of Exeter. Dan Charlesworth, their Local Business Development Manager, was fantastic to deal with, really down to earth and an honest grafter.

Cars were tricky to source when we purchased our EQB, Dan and the team improved the specification we set out in our brief and ran multiple finance options for me. Nothing was too much trouble with Dan and the communication has been great post ownership too, Dan and I are still in contact as he has a keen interest in how we are getting on. I cannot recommend the dealership enough, my children even like going there to sit in the cars from time to time, not to mention the free flap jack they always walk out with!

What is your favourite driving road trip in the South West?

We have a static caravan located at Harlyn in Cornwall, this is where we spend most of our weekends.

As soon as we come off of the A30 onto the Camelford road towards Wadebridge, we are in our happy place. The EQB drives so smoothly, it’s so easy to drive and comes with a fantastic sound system (don’t get me started on the stereo, it’s amazing and a must in a near silent electric car). The road is the A395 to Davidstow, it’s fast and flowing and you get to use the paddles on the back of the steering wheel which are really good fun and engaging to use.

If you’re looking to electrify your business, speak to our Local Business Development Managers. Or, if you’re looking to charge into a sustainable style, take a look at our all-electric range.