Truck lessor Ryder has delivered a
10-tonne Smith Newton truck to distribution and outsourcing group
Bunzl, after signing a pioneering 10-year contract hire agreement
believed to be one of the first lease deals for an electric HGV in
the UK.

Whereas many lessors have experimented with providing
smaller electric panel vans and cars, electric HGV leasing is still
largely uncharted territory.

Bunzl’s new truck, designed specifically for
the rigours of stop-start work in the greater London area, will be
used for work in the catering and hospitality sector.

Based at Bunzl’s Charlton branch in south-east
London, the Newton will have a maximum range of approximately 80
miles.

Trials have shown that one charge should
provide the vehicle with the energy for three days of operation on
Bunzl’s normal delivery routes.

As well as carrying recharging equipment
enabling it to be recharged from any three-phase electric outlet,
the Newton is fitted with ‘regenerative braking’, a technology to
extend battery life.

“The supply of our first zero emission
electric contract hire truck is part of our plan to supply Bunzl
with the most environmentally friendly vehicles available,” said
Bruce Howard, Ryder’s contract hire director.

Ryder has been supplying vans and trucks to
Bunzl’s five divisions since 2007, and currently has 200 vehicles
on lease with the firm. Currently, 70 percent of Bunzl’s carbon
emissions are generated by its diesel-powered fleet, a figure which
it hopes to reduce through greater use of electric vehicles.

Max Harris, Bunzl’s operations & field
sales director, said “We have already fitted wind deflectors to
every vehicle, which gave us a 5-8 percent reduction in fuel
consumption, as well as introducing aerodynamic double-deck
trailers which took the equivalent of two articulated 38-tonne
vehicles off the road.”

He added that in looking for lower fleet
emissions, both LPG and Bio-Diesel engines had been trialled, but
that LPG engines turned out to be “underpowered” while Bio-Diesel
was thought to be an unsustainable fuel source due to the land
required to grow fuel crops.

Should the Smith Newton meet Bunzl’s
reliability expectations, Harris said that more electric vehicles –
primarily lighter LGVs at first – would be brought into use around
the UK in 2011.

In the same month as writing the Bunzl deal,
Ryder announced the investment of £18 million (€20 million) to
purchase 613 new commercial vehicles for its rental fleet in
Europe.

This follows significant investment in HGVs
during 2008, and brings the average age of the Ryder fleet to 28
months, considerably lower than the industry average.

David Hunt, vice-president and managing
director of Ryder Europe’s Fleet Management Solutions division,
said: “I believe we will be the only rental company to place such a
significant order for HGVs so early on in the year.

“We believe the rental market will come back
first, since finance for purchase is not so easily available and
rental, particularly long-term rental, enables customers to be
flexible.”

Fred Crawley