Bratislava, 21 July 2021 - Representatives of Coca-Cola HBC Czech Republic and Slovakia took delivery of 20 new CNG-powered Škoda Octavia G-Tec cars from ŠKODA AUTO Slovakia. For Coca-Cola HBC CZ/SK the sustainability of its activities is key. The handover ceremony also took place in the presence of the partner company SPP CNG, which will provide fuel for the new fleet.
The corporate fleet of CNG-powered cars in Slovakia supplied by ŠKODA AUTO already includes seven ŠKODA SCALAs and five VW Caddy Maxi TGIs. In the coming months there will be a gradual exchange of all vehicles. Coca-Cola HBC Czech Republic and Slovakia has 150 employees in Slovakia who use these vehicles daily. The handover of the new vehicles is part of the overall fleet renewal in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and includes up to 300 CNG-powered vehicles and several plug-in hybrids. CNG combustion results in almost no particulate matter and produces less harmful greenhouse gases.
"We want to do our part to help stabilise the climate, as this is a key area for us. By 2030, across the Coca-Cola HBC company, we will reduce our absolute emissions for direct operations and production by 55% compared to 2017. In cooperation with our partners, this fleet change will help us reduce emissions in the Czech Republic and Slovakia by 20%," said Mária Kolarovská, Commercial Director for Slovakia at Coca-Cola HBC Czech Republic and Slovakia. "We are very excited about the new alternative fuel cars powered by CNG and believe this is just the beginning of what we can do for the environment in this area. We are delighted to be switching to an alternative fuel source in the same year that we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of Coca-Cola in our territory," she added.
"We are delighted that Coca-Cola HBC has embraced CNG powered vehicles, which bring with them environmentally friendly, cost-effective and safe transport. CNG is compressed natural gas, which can also be 100% replaced by renewable biomethane. The economic savings of CNG powered vehicles range from 10 to 40% compared to vehicles that run on conventional fuels. This saving lies not only in the long-term favourable price of CNG, which is lower than the price of petrol or diesel, but also in the lower consumption, as CNG has up to 130 octane, and in the simplicity of the fuel system, where CNG vehicles do not have DPF filters, urea and various other support systems. Even without these support systems, a CNG vehicle can meet stringent emissions standards. Currently, 16 public filling stations are available to motorists across Slovakia, of which SPP CNG, s.r.o., as a subsidiary of Slovenský plynárenského průmyslu, a. s., operates 11 public self-service CNG stations, which sufficiently cover the needs of our partners and customers," said Peter Mozolák, Managing Director of SPP CNG.
"The ŠKODA OCTAVIA model has long been one of the most popular models on the Slovak market and I am delighted that Coca-Cola has chosen this model as a reliable member of its fleet. What makes us all even happier is that this is the CNG version, which, thanks to its low emissions, offers an environmentally friendly driving experience. ŠKODA takes reducing emissions extremely seriously as part of its Green Future strategy. That's why we appreciate partners who are like-minded and use alternative sources of power in their fleets. I believe that we will continue to expand our successful partnership and we wish the Coca-Cola HBC team many happy kilometres with their new ŠKODA OCTAVIAs," said Jan Procházka, Head of Sales, for ŠKODA AUTO Slovakia.
Coca-Cola HBC's ambition towards sustainable business is also confirmed by its choice of purely digital reporting and accounting. The company is also extremely concerned about the safety of its employees on the road, which is why all vehicles are equipped with state-of-the-art safety features such as driver fatigue monitoring, blind-spot monitoring, line-assist, adaptive cruise control, parking sensors and wireless SmartLink. In addition, all vehicles are equipped with a GPS tracking system that allows the company to monitor the ecological footprint of individual vehicles and suggest measures to make driving more efficient.
The vehicles will be used primarily by the company's sales representatives, regional sales managers or middle management employees in Slovakia.
Video of the handover of the new fleet can be found here.
Media contact:
Tomáš Kočí, e-mail: koci@seesame.com, tel.: 0917 103 119
Kamila Márföldy, e-mail: kamila.marfoldy@seesame.com, tel.: 0905 967 995