Lithuanian Airports are modernising their car fleet by switching to electric vehicles

Lithuanian Airports are starting to upgrade their car fleet with environmentally friendly cars. The company, which aims to become a CO2-neutral organization by 2030, has signed a lease agreement for 7 new electric cars. These electric cars will replace the petrol-powered cars used for work purposes by airport staff. At the same time, charging stations have already been installed at Vilnius, Kaunas and Palanga airports.

According to Kristina Greičiūtė, Head of Environmental Protection at Lithuanian Airports, approximately one fifth of Lithuanian Airports’ service vehicles will now be replaced with electric vehicles. It is expected that by 2026, electric vehicles will account for half of the total car park, and by 2029 – 100%.

“The eco-friendly car fleet is part of our adopted NET ZERO strategy, which is in line with Lithuanian Airports’ commitment to reduce the airport’s impact on climate change. Therefore, it has been decided to gradually replace both the cars used by the company’s employees and the buses serving passengers at Vilnius Airport with environmentally friendly alternatives, which will be put into operation in a few years’ time, in order to become climate neutral by 2030 step by step” says K. Greičiūtė.

Of the seven currently leased electric vehicles, two will be used at Vilnius Airport, four at Kaunas Airport and one at Palanga Airport. Based on that, two charging stations have already been installed at Vilnius Airport, four at Kaunas Airport and one at Palanga Airport. Lithuanian airports have opted for Nissan Leaf electric vehicles with 62 kWh batteries.

According to K. Greičiūtė, the characteristics of the selected electric vehicles perfectly meet the needs of airport staff – to cover distances within the airport territory, traveling to suppliers etc. According to the manufacturer’s information, the Nissan Leaf can travel about 385 kilometres on a single charge. Fast charging takes 90 minutes to fully recharge the battery and conventional charging takes around 8 hours.

The new 3-year lease contract for electric vehicles includes the full package of services needed to ensure the safe and sustainable operation of these vehicles.