Enterprise Flex-E-Rent has added 100 plug-in electric vans to its rental fleet. The electric vans will be available for daily rental as well as for longer-term flexible rental at 14 Enterprise Flex-E-Rent depots in the South of England and the Midlands.
The 50 Mercedes 55/44 kWh eSprinter vans have a range of up to 90 miles on a full charge, depending on the payload, while the 50 smaller 35 kWh Mercedes eVito Panel vans can be fully recharged in six hours and also have a range of up to 90 miles.
This investment will support businesses trying out electric vehicles as they plan for the ending of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans in 2030. Many businesses are consulting with Enterprise about how rental vehicles can help them shift to alternative fuels and reduce carbon emissions.
An electric van can provide an effective solution for emission-free motoring, especially for shorter, high-volume journeys with lower payloads, in and around urban areas, and where vans can be easily recharged during periods of downtime or overnight. An example would be businesses making deliveries or service stops in city centres.
Many UK towns and cities are planning to introduce Clean Air and Low Emission Zones in 2021, driving interest in electric vehicles, and London has already announced the expansion of its Ultra-Low Emission Zone in October 2021.
The introduction of these vans supports the increasingly important role electric vehicles have in the advancement of sustainable mobility, as well as in Enterprise’s fleet overall.
The expanded electric van fleet marks the next step in Enterprise’s investment in alternative fuel vehicles. It follows the addition of 30 new electric Renault ZOE cars to Enterprise’s rental fleet in Scotland and its pilot programme of 17 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell electric cars in 2021.
Businesses looking to switch to electric vehicles in order to reduce emissions will also benefit from the additional financial flexibility that rental brings, enabling them to move away from the high capital costs of owning a vehicle fleet. Rental vehicles are also newer and equipped with the latest safety features.
Europcar Mobility Group launched its “One Sustainable Fleet” programme, to reach more than 1/3 of “green” vehicles (electric, plug-in hybrids and hybrids) in its fleet by the end of 2023.
