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Allports Group Electric Experience

Allports Group gives drivers electric experience with its courtesy fleet

Midlands, UK 5 September 2020

Truck, van and trailer specialist Allports Group has invested in a brand-new electric van courtesy fleet to provide customers with firsthand experience of electric vehicles.

The car-derived vans will be provided to drivers as a loan vehicle when they drop commercial vehicles off for servicing. Allports Group MD Paul Sanders hopes this will give fleet customers a risk-free way of becoming familiar with electric vehicles and give drivers a sense of how they perform.

Allports Group Electric Vehicles

“Allports Group has long been a committed advocate of the EV project which has undoubted environmental and air quality benefits,” says Sanders. “Our courtesy fleet will now give our customers a chance to familiarise themselves with EVs in a risk-free and hassle-free way. It’s one of our contributions to helping the industry make this huge transition from diesel fleets to low-carbon alternatives.

“We are also very aware that commercial vehicle drivers are always at the sharp end of vehicle engineering developments,” says Sanders. “Drivers’ experience and professional opinion of vehicles are very important.”

The logistics industry must start to address the potential for electric vehicles with ever great urgency, given the spread of ultra-low emission and clean air zones, and the UK government’s Road to Zero targets, which may outlaw new diesel cars and LCVs as early as 2032.

Allports Group Electric Vehicles

 

Allports Group sold the first electric Renault Master vans in the UK, to Amazon delivery partner NGC. The Master ZE is powered by Renault Trucks’ all-electric 57kW ZE engine with 33kWh Lithium-ion battery and automatic gearbox, offering a range of up to 120km, and is ideal for final-mile deliveries.

Sanders says: “NGC has had great success with its electric fleet. We hope to help other customers repeat this success by ensuring they find the right electric vehicles, with the right business case for their operations.”

Allports Group Electric Vehicles

Electric vans offer many financial benefits, such as exemption from VED and Van Fuel Benefit Charge, as well as a Cleaner Vehicle exemption, which applies to the ULEZ and Congestion Charges in London. From October 2021 only electric or alternative driveline vehicles will be eligible for ULEZ and Congestion Charge exemptions.

EVs have fewer moving parts than conventional vehicles and so offer substantial savings on repair and maintenance, with lower downtime and minimal refuelling costs.

They also provide the most immediate solution to the issues of urban air pollution, noise, and transport’s disproportionate contribution to CO2 emissions.

Allports Group is currently showcasing the Renault D ZE electric distribution truck, which will be available from 12 to 26 tonnes. With a payload of up to 11 tonnes, this reduces CO2 emissions by up to 75% and has zero tailpipe emissions. It is eligible to enter both restricted traffic and clean air zones. It has a range of 120km and can recharge in as little as two hours.

“The government’s Road to Zero targets already means that new diesel cars and light vans will no longer be available from 2035, and possibly even earlier,” says Sanders.

“It is highly likely that we will see the phasing out of all diesel-driven urban vehicles within a couple of buying cycles.

“Meanwhile truck manufacturers have to meet a 15% CO2 reduction target by 2025, averaged across all their new vehicles, and a 30% reduction by 2030 to comply with EU regulations, and they will need to promote zero-emission technologies to achieve this,” Sanders continues. “Operators should waste no time in exploring the alternative driveline vehicles available because they will increasingly make commercial, operational and financial sense.”

Early user anxieties about electric vehicles, in particular around the range and battery life, have been resolved, and the technology itself is operationally robust. Battery technology has developed apace and charging solutions have also become smarter, managing and distributing demand in line with grid capacity.

Allports Group would like to invite any operators who wish to learn more about electric LCVs or distribution vehicles to call its Lichfield office on 01543 420120 or its Stoke on Trent office on 01782 598282.

About Allports Group

Allports Group has a 60+ year tradition of serving UK commercial vehicle operators with products and services which deliver both financial and operational benefits.

For over 60 years Allports Group has developed successful operations in key business areas, including Authorised Distributors for Renault Trucks, Allports Rental and Contract Hire specialists, Bodywork Repair and Paint Centre, and more recently Deker Trailers, a business dedicated and specialised in multi-deck trailers.

Based at its award-winning 4.5-acre Truck and Trailer Centre at Fradley Park in Lichfield, Allports continue to invest in people, facilities and resources designed to meet the exacting needs of modern truck and trailer operators. It has a team of 120 truck and trailer specialists who work together to create bespoke and completely integrated commercial vehicle packages.

For more information please contact Allports Group MD Paul Sanders on 01543 420120 or email p.sanders@allportsgroup.co.uk.