Sunbelt Rentals has invested £1.1m in VN5 vans made by LEVC, the Chinese-owned manufacturer of London’s traditional black cabs.
The VN5, designed and manufactured in Coventry, was launched in November 2020. It has the same powertrain technology as the TX electric taxi and claims a range of 60 miles on a single charge or more than 300 miles when the petrol engine helps out. It is made from aluminium, with plastic body panels, and has a five cubic metre carrying capacity.
Motoring magazine AutoExpress rated the VN5 10th (out of 10) in its 2022 ranking of best medium panel vans, behind the Fiat Talento and Toyota Proace. The Ford Transit Custon topped the list with Volkswagen’s Transporter in second.
Sunbelt has other priorities.
Sunbelt logistics and supply chain director David Phillips said: “Investing in electric vehicles is a natural fit for Sunbelt Rentals; we’re always keen to stay ahead of the curve and future proof the business with increasingly sustainable practices.
“We’ve chosen to work with LEVC as our values are very similar, they’re passionate about their business and are willing to support our ambitious plan to electrify our fleet of vehicles.
“Through our ‘Our Planet’ action plan and in-line with our environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy it is our commitment to reduce carbon intensity by 35% by 2030 and, at the moment, more than 80% of our total emissions come from the vehicles that we operate.
“The VN5 vehicles are made from sustainably-sourced aluminium from Wales, and in terms of suitability they fit the needs of our multiple business units, making them the ideal asset for the business.
“We have undertaken some good work to reduce our emissions in recent years which included switching to more economical and less polluting diesel-powered engines, but we recognise that we need to do more. We already have a small number of electric vehicles in the fleet, and this new order of 22 vans will bolster the number of electric vans we were already running.”
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