Portsmouth City Council has added five new Renault Kangoo Maxi Electric vans to its fleet.

An in-depth fleet review was undertaken by the Portsmouth City Council’s transport operations team led by James Roberts, to identify a practical and cost-effective vehicle solution for small-to-medium size commercial vehicles.

By accessing The Procurement Partnership’s (TPPL) framework agreement, the council appointed leasing partners Southern Motor Contracts to supply the electric vans. 

Tony Jefferson, fleet transport operations officer for the council, said the Renault Kangoo electric van offered the same load capacity to the diesel equivalent with ultra-low running costs and zero emissions.

He described the Renault Kangoo as the ‘obvious choice’ in terms of electric range, addressing operatives concerns on range anxiety.

Roberts said: “With the clean air zone (CAZ) being introduced into the Portsmouth area it is really important that the council leads the way in making its fleet as green as possible.”

The deployment of the first five vans has taken place to the ‘Green and Clean’ team at the council, Southern Motor Contracts said it is anticipated that further full EVs will be deployed within other services within Portsmouth City Council over the coming months.

Mark Baumfield, managing director at Southern Motor Contracts, said the company will work closely with the council to continually review the operating costs of the vehicles whilst on fleet.

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