The Queensland Government’s fleet service, QFleet, has taken delivery of its 1000th electric vehicle (EV) after announcing last year it plans on purchasing 3000 EVs by 2026.
Vehicle number 1000 is a Kia Niro, which will be delivered to the Government’s Office of Industrial Relations and used for the frontline workplace health and safety support of workers in Queensland’s electrical industry.
The Kia Niro, offering a zero-emission range of around 450km, can be charged from 10 to 80 per cent in just 43 minutes using DC fast charging.
Back in 2018 QFleet set an ambitious goal to double the number of EVs within its 10,300-strong fleet each year, a target which it has since met.
Now QFleet has set its sights on transitioning 100 per cent of its eligible passenger vehicles to zero-emission options by 2026, which will see 3000 EVs added to its fleet.
Qualifying vehicle types under the Queensland Government’s definition of an EV include plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV), and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (HFCEV).
Alongside its fast-paced adoption of EVs, QFleet has also been trialling hydrogen fuel cell vehicles with five Hyundai NEXO HFCEVs deployed in 2021.
The trial, which is a collaboration between Qfleeet, Hyundai, BOX Australia, BP Australia and ARENA, aims to establish whether hydrogen vehicles are suitable for the delivery of government services.
According to Qfleet, the three-year HFCEV trial enabled BOX Gas to develop the $4.2 million end-to-end renewable hydrogen project, offering Australia’s first public hydrogen refuelling station.
The NEXO HFCEVs take just three to five minutes to refuel, but offer a driving range of 660km, compared with EVs which take considerably longer to recharge.
