The first full electric road assistance vehicles arrive

March 10, 2020
Europ Assistance adds the first totally green vehicles for on-site repairs to its network. Operating in Rome and Milan since mid-January, they have already carried out over 300 interventions. In one year, a possible saving of 34 tons of CO2 is estimated. The share of hydro and electric cars in the replacement car fleet is also growing.

Mobility is changing and a company attentive to innovation and sustainability must be able to anticipate customer needs and combine them with those of the environment. Following these principles, Europ Assistance was the first to introduce an important innovation: vehicles for dépannage (i.e. capable of intervening and repairing – where possible – any vehicle directly on site without the need for towing) totally electric and capable of intervening without polluting. Because an evolution is also necessary on emergency vehicles to reduce emissions, especially in urban centres.

Thanks to vehicles and staff dedicated to dépannage, the customer receives a service that allows him to avoid the tow truck and therefore the towing to the workshop and is put in a position to start again immediately. Furthermore, this service is also good for the community because in this way the emissions of pollutants are reduced. If these vehicles are totally electric, the improvement is even more significant. Europ Assistance has equipped itself with four totally electric dépannage vehicles, two in Rome and two in Milan, operational since mid-January and which have already carried out over 300 interventions. Thanks to this innovation, approximately 34 tons of CO2 could be saved every year considering the average consumption of traditional diesel emergency vehicles (estimate obtained with the EPA calculation system, the US environmental protection agency).
These vehicles can carry out up to 70 interventions per day, covering approximately 60% of the total dépannage interventions in the cities where they are present in a year. This means more than halving CO2 emissions, especially in the centers of large cities which have an objective pollution problem.

“The commitment to sustainable development will be a priority this year and we are convinced that change starts from each of us. The objective is to extend the project to the main Italian cities. With this initiative we take a further important step towards mobility that respects the environment, because not only do we provide specific services for electric vehicles, but our emergency vehicles themselves become green”.

Marco Baldoli, Chief Auto Officer di Europ Assistance Italia

The electric dépannage vehicles are not the only measure taken by Europ Assistance, in fact the composition of the fleet of Europ Assistance replacement cars, reserved for customers in the event of a vehicle breakdown, has also been remodelled.
To date, out of a total of approximately 900 vehicles, approximately 15% are Full Electric and almost 10% Hybrid. During 2022 the percentage of electric and hybrid cars will rise further.

The combination of all these initiatives makes the Company one of the most attentive in terms of new mobility, in harmony with the objectives of reducing emissions and evolving towards a more sustainable business model.

Europ Assistance: “you live we care”

In Italia dal 1968 Europ Assistance accompagna da sempre la trasformazione della società, rispondendo ai bisogni delle persone e spesso anticipandoli.

Il 2018 ha segnato un traguardo speciale: il 50° anniversario, mezzo secolo di assistenza in un contesto in continuo cambiamento di cui l’azienda si è fatta interprete grazie a percorsi di innovazione e soluzioni a prova di futuro. Europ Assistance è in grado di intervenire in più di 200 Paesi sia nel quotidiano che nelle situazioni di emergenza, con servizi di assistenza personalizzati e coperture assicurative per i Viaggi, l’Auto, la Salute e la Casa&Famiglia. Forte di una centrale operativa attiva 24h, un network di assistenza di oltre 750.000 centri nel mondo e un’equipe medica Europ Assistance è sinonimo di sicurezza e tranquillità̀ perché́ è al fianco dei suoi clienti sempre e ovunque. In Italia ha chiuso l’esercizio 2021 con un fatturato di oltre 290 milioni di euro, conta uno staff di oltre 838 persone e 10.300 centri di assistenza. Il payoff “you live, we care” rispecchia l’essenza e la vision del Gruppo, essere la “Care Company” più affidabile al mondo ed è rafforzato da quattro brand attributes distintivi e racchiusi nel concetto stesso di CARE: Caring, Available, Reliable e Easy to work with.