Electric vehicle trial provides a boost to repair operations
We've recently embarked on an electric vehicle trial which will help explore new ways for us to become more sustainable and reduce the environmental impact of our activities.
The initiative has seen us add three Renault Zoe vans, which are powered by an electric engine, to our fleet with two in use in our South region and one in the Midlands area.
Alan Purdy, an Area Manager in our Assets Team, is currently using one of the electric vans and has had a charging point installed in his home. Commenting on his driving experience with a Renault Zoe so far Alan said “When I collected the van from our Chippenham office the battery was on 95 per cent and I was impressed that it was still half full after my 115-mile journey home. The layout of the van is handy and there is plenty of space for everything I need to carry for work. So far, so good”
The new vans are smaller than our vehicles with traditional engines making them ideal for use by supervisors who tend to require fewer parts and equipment to carry out their work. The introduction of the Renault Zoe vans into our fleet has had a tangible impact to our service by making three more traditional vehicles available for operatives to undertake repairs and maintenance work.
The electric vans have been leased for a three-year period and over the course of that time we expect them to help reduce our carbon footprint. Renault Zoe vans have been classified by the UK Government as low-emission vehicles because they have a CO2 output of less than 50g/km and can travel at least 96km (60 miles) without any emissions at all.
Ben Lewis, our Head of Repair Operations said “Owing to a global shortage of both traditional and electric-powered commercial vehicles the scope of the trial is limited at present. However, the three electric vehicles we already have in operation have added capacity to our fleet and are contributing towards GSA’s sustainability goals. I look forward to sharing further updates about the trial and being able to make more electric vehicles available to GreenSquareAccord colleagues.”
