Swansea Council has taken delivery of 40 PEUGEOT Partner Electric SE L1 vans, making Swansea the local authority with the largest electric van fleet in Wales. The order is also one of the largest single orders from a local authority for electric vehicles.
The Partner Electric vans will be used predominantly by Swansea’s Corporate Building Services, Waste Management, Parks, Highways, Car Parks and Street Cleansing teams.
The vehicles have been leased on a five-year contract hire agreement, including maintenance and breakdown cover, from independent vehicle leasing and fleet management company Days Fleet. The vans are all fitted with ply lining and some feature “Chapter 8” high-visibility markings on the rear doors, depending on allocated use, and have been supplied through local PEUGEOT Dealer C.E.M. Day.
“Swansea Council consistently seeks to minimise the impact of its vehicle operations in what is a predominantly urban setting and had previously established the clear environmental benefits of electric vehicles with the adoption of 10 electric pool cars”, says Mark Barrow; Fleet Manager, Central Transport Unit at Swansea Council, “An analysis of journeys and mileages clearly demonstrated their potential viability, whilst the preferred five-year lease equated to a budget neutral position that enabled us to achieve a much greener fleet.”
Swansea Council chose the PEUGEOT Partner Electric because the requirement for its small vans is predominantly for use on short, local journeys.
“The excellent support provided by PEUGEOT in terms of infrastructure development allowed the Council to install the necessary charge-points at all key municipal locations”, says Mark Barrow, “The establishment of this base-to-base charge-point network secured the opportunity to acquire the 40 vans.” The existing EV support relationship with C.E.M. Day, established with the previous electric pool cars, provided another key determining factor in the adoption of the Partner Electric vans.
“Days Fleet continues to be proud to secure the funding and fleet management for another public sector organisation and is delighted to assist Swansea Council with its electric van requirements.” said Aled Williams, Managing Director of Days Fleet.
“The duty cycles of many of the Swansea Council van fleet are well suited to electric motoring and suggest that many other local authorities could tap into similar cost saving and environmental benefits.”, says Helen Lees, Head of Electric Vehicles at Group PSA, ”We are delighted to have helped the Council bring together the right vehicles and charging infrastructure to assist it in reducing the impact of its vehicle operations.”
