A total of 1,500 new ‘60’ registration plate vehicles are already out on the roads with customers and the company expects to take delivery of a further 600 vehicles before the end of September.

The majority of these new purchases will be light commercial vehicles, which will bring a series of benefits to existing customers and is expected to generate new opportunities from businesses updating their fleets by hiring rather than buying outright.

The vehicles joining the Northgate Vehicle Hire fleet this month include: Ford Transits; Mercedes-Benz Sprinters; Volkswagen Caddy’s; Peugeot Partners and Vauxhall Astravans. In addition, the new deliveries include models from the Audi, BMW, Iveco, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and SEAT ranges.

Northgate Vehicle Hire purchasing manager, Ken Rayner said: “The continuous investment in new vehicles throughout 2010 underlines our commitments and gives the company a significant competitive edge over our rivals in terms of being able to respond to customer requirements.

“Our new ‘60’ plate vehicles that are already out on the road with customers have either joined the fleets of new clients or have replaced vehicles operated by existing clients which we have defleeted.”

He added: “As well as the operational benefits of running new vehicles, our business customers are also very conscious of portraying the ‘right’ image to their clients. Organisations like to be associated with other successful businesses and operating smart new vehicles is one way of achieving that recognition.”