Carbn Group And PowerFinance Announce Strategic Partnership To Accelerate New Zealand’s Fleet Transition

Carbn Group (Carbn) today announced a new partnership with New Zealand fintech PowerFinance, aimed at accelerating Aotearoa’s transition to sustainable transport.

Carbn and its subsidiaries, Carbn Asset Management and Sustainable Fleet Finance were formed to support the uptake of low emissions vehicles in corporate and public sector-owned fleets.

Under the agreement, PowerFinance will join majority shareholder New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) as an investor in Carbn, and Carbn will leverage PowerFinance’s fintech platform to drive efficiencies and innovation and reduce costs for its business and customers - removing barriers to EV adoption.

Carbn has a diverse range of clients that include govt departments, large corporates, businesses such as Tall Poppy Real Estate and car share companies Mevo and Zilch. It is also a partner in the recently announced $20 million deal between NZ Post and NZGIF to accelerate the uptake of EVs amongst NZ Post courier drivers.

NZGIF Chief Investment Officer and Carbn Board member Jason Patrick says the partnership with PowerFinance shows confidence in Carbn off the back of positive momentum for the company and sends a strong growth signal as the company undertakes its current capital raise.

"NZGIF has worked very closely with Carbn to really shape the company to take full advantage of the opportunities presented to decarbonise the transport sector, in particular the light vehicle fleet.

"We have a hybrid investment in Carbn which includes a majority equity stake in the company, so we are pleased to see the momentum that the company is experiencing. PowerFinance is a welcome partner given our shared objectives around accelerating New Zealand’s decarbonisation," said Patrick.

The use of PowerFinance’s unique technology will enable Carbn to transform its leasing operations, taking advantage of lower costs and simplified compliance to channel even more resources towards New Zealand’s green transition.

"We’re excited by the work Carbn is doing to make a genuine difference to New Zealand’s carbon footprint, which aligns with our own ambitions to create a better future for more people through finance. This partnership underlines our shared acknowledgement that major challenges such as climate change can’t be solved alone. Collaboration and innovation are increasingly critical to achieving New Zealand’s net zero carbon commitments, and creating the kind of future we want," said Dave Corbett, CEO of PowerFinance.

Carbn Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer David Simpson said it is a busy and exciting time for the company.

"As we have seen with the recently released emissions reduction plan there are plenty of opportunities when it comes to decarbonising the transport sector. In our space, the electrification of large fleets is key to creating a strong secondhand market of EVs which in turn helps electrify the private vehicle fleet.

"The NZ Post contract courier deal alone is a big piece of work. When you add the capital raise on top, it is all go for us at the moment. On the capital raise side, it seems to have been received positively and we are having some great conversations," said Simpson.

Alongside this Carbn has brought in Shaun Drylie to be the new CEO. Shaun brings significant financial experience having worked at Westland Bank, ASB, Commonwealth Bank and was most recently Group Chief Executive at SBS Bank for over five years.

"I am excited to be bringing my over 30 years’ experience in the banking and finance sector to Carbn during such an exciting period of growth for the company. I’m really looking forward to working with PowerFinance to ensure funding is directly linked to sustainable outcomes, providing the utmost transparency to our stakeholders and customers and delivering on our commitment to accelerate the decarbonisation of New Zealand transport,’ said Drylie.

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