Dawsonrentals Vans has announced that it will add 3,500 new cars and light commercial vehicles to its nationwide rental fleet for 2015, with an investment worth over £50m.

The investment follows a strong end to the year, which saw Dawsonrentals Vans improve its live trading database by more than 58%.

In 2014, the business focused heavily on downtime reduction and reported an average mechanical vehicle off road rate (VOR) of below 1%.

The new fleets will continue to be predominantly supported by Mercedes, VW, Ford and Isuzu, although Dawsonrentals Vans will also continue to purchase assets from Land Rover, Peugeot and Nissan.

Last year also saw the business advance its fleet and network infrastructure with two additional new depots in Ipswich and Reading.  

Dawsonrentals Vans managing director Gareth Jones said: “For us, keeping our customers’ vehicles on the road is the main objective. This large investment illustrates the ongoing commitment that the Dawsongroup is making to become a major player in the light commercial vehicle rental sector.

“As a family owned business with a diverse range of assets, rental products and services delivered across several countries, this investment for 2015 reflects a real passion and desire to be a force within van hire business.

“Having a fleet with the average age below 12 months played a key part in the strong operational performance that we delivered throughout the year.

“It’s a great result to have secured partnering programmes for 2015 with all of the key manufacturers, as it ensures we have maintained the safest and most efficient fleet on the road for both our short and long term customers.”