By Olga Aristeidou
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a €108.3 million(US$115.7million) loan to Olympic Commercial and Tourist Enterprises SA (Avis Greece) to support the further electrification of the company’s car fleet.
The proceeds of the loan will partially finance Avis Greece’s investment programme for the replacement of internal-combustion-engine vehicles with battery-electric vehicles that have zero carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The signing took place on 10 April 2024 and was attended by EBRD Managing Director for Central and South-Eastern Europe, Charlotte Ruhe; EBRD Head of Greece and Cyprus, Andreea Moraru; Avis Greece’s CEO and Vice Chair of the Board of Directors, Andreas Taprantzis; and Governor of the Greek Recovery and Resilience Agency, Orestis Kavalakis.
Ms Ruhe stressed how important the transaction is to the EBRD: “I am delighted to be signing today this second very important transaction with Avis, a company that aspires to promote the electrification of transport and overall decarbonisation in Greece. Our investment will facilitate the transition towards climate neutrality and contribute to the implementation of Greece’s ambitious Recovery and Resilience Plan, helping to build a more sustainable future.”
Mr Taprantzis commented: “This financing facility from the EBRD and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan is another key milestone in our ambitious strategic plan to enhance Avis’ modern fleet with zero-emission cars. Finalising this agreement affirms our commitment to leading a widespread adoption of electric vehicles, moving towards a greener future in Greece’s mobility sector and drastically reducing our carbon footprint by more than 50,000 tons of CO2 per year. We are proud that the EBRD has shown confidence in our ability to carry out our vision for sustainable growth.”
The project is the fifth sub-operation to take place under the EBRD’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) Co-Financing Framework in Greece, which is implemented as part of the “Greece 2.0” National Recovery and Resilience Plan, funded by the European Union’s (EU) NextGenerationEU programme.
The loan consists of €40.6 million in EBRD financing, combined with €67.7 million in RRF loans channelled through the Greek Ministry of Finance.
The funds will be used to support Avis Greece’s €135 million investment programme for the purchase of around 2,900 battery-electric vehicles. Replacing its fleet with vehicles that have lower CO2 emissions will help Avis Greece to reduce its carbon footprint.
Avis Greece is already working to increase the availability of charging stations across the country; it is introducing leasing services for electric-vehicle chargers and on-the-go charging bundles in cooperation with major market players in the electric-vehicle-charging sector.
Avis Greece is the biggest leasing and car rental company in Greece, with an extensive fleet exceeding 60,000 vehicles and a nationwide network of more than 60 stations, including all major airports.
To date, the EBRD has invested more than €7.5 billion in 110 projects in the corporate, financial, energy and infrastructure sectors of the Greek economy.
