A weekly roundup of fleet news from the UK and
Europe
Hermes expands electric fleet with Fiat
500E
Go deeper with GlobalData
Hermes, Germany’s largest logistics service
provider and operator of 14,000 private parcel receiving offices,
has added to its electric fleet with a four-year trial of the Fiat
500 E from commercial vehicle supplier Karabag.
Hermes has tested electric vehicles for
Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Smart since the mid-1980s and claims to
have reduced its carbon emissions by 42% since 1994.
The 500 E will be used with Hermes’ fashion
retail client bonprix.
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By GlobalDataDaf LF is US ‘truck of the
year’ 
Sales growth for the Daf LF in Germany, Italy,
Poland, the Czech Republic, France and the Netherlands has seen
manufacturer Leyland Trucks expand to new markets including
Australia, Israel and Russia.
The global spread of the Daf LF also includes
the Americas, where the Peterbilt Model 210, has won the US
American Truck Dealers’ medium duty commercial truck of the year
2012.
Alphabet dives in to car
pools
Multi-marque fleet funder Alphabet is to
launch corporate car-sharing scheme AlphaCity in the UK next
month.
Alphabet believes the focus on business travel
will make the cost of vehicle ownership for AlphaCity members a
viable substitute for taxis and rental vehicles.
The launch of AlphaCity is set for 16 March in
Fulham, London.
SSP Group and TR Fleet management
deal
Food distributor to travel locations SSP has
signed a new service and management agreement with independent
fleet consultancy TR Fleet.
TR will source funded vehicles and review
maintenance and management for SSP’s 45 company cars, 200 cash
allowance and grey fleet drivers and salary sacrifice scheme for
1,400 employees, mainly BMW, Vauxhall and Volkswagen cars on a
three-year or 75,000-mile cycle.
New VW Caddy finance offers
German manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) is
offering a new range of contract hire or finance lease options on
the Caddy Match special edition model in the UK.
Finance, through VW Commercial Vehicle
Finance, with interest rates starting at 3.99% is available across
the range from the 1.6 litre TDI 75 PS to the 2.0 litre TDI 140
PS.
Seven vans selected for UK EV
grant
The Department for Transport has confirmed the
first seven vans eligible for the plug-in grant of up to £8,000 or
20% of value to encourage uptake of electric vehicles (EVs).
The seven vans which meet the criteria are:
Ford Transit Connect Electric, Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell, Renault
Kangoo ZE and Smith Edison, all available now; Faam Ecomile and
Faam Jolly 2000, both available in March; and Mia U, available in
May.
Renault has put great stock in the supply and aftersales of its EV
range in the UK and ISS and JC Decaux have already placed
orders for the Kangoo ZE which, Renault calculates, will be
available at a reduced price of £13,592 with up to four
years’ finance and four years’ / 100,000-mile warranty.
Franco-German model the Mia U will retail for
around £21,000 after the grant, according to the manufacturer, or
£22,000 for the L and box van models.
Richard Deslandes, Mia head of UK sales,
speaking while stood beside government representatives at the
announcement of the grant, said “the box van is a key component of
the product range Mia electric plans to bring to the UK market
later this year. We hope the government’s decision to extend the
grant to cover vans will incentivise business owners to use
electric vehicles.”
The Vito E-Cell will be available on a
contract hire package from Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles,
ranging from one to four years, and has an equal payload to a
regular van, claims Steve Bridge, van sales and marketing director
for Mercedes-Benz UK.
Funding for the grant has been secured until
2015 and is part of £400m earmarked by the coalition government to
promote low-emission technology.
