Dawsongroup Vans has taken delivery of 15 new electric Mercedes-Benz eVito Tourers.

The eVito fleet, which transports drivers between collection and delivery addresses across the UK, has replaced 60% of the diesel delivery fleet.

The eVitos have a 100kWh battery which as a range of more than 200 miles in a single charge. The vehicles are expected to save 30kg of CO2 every day, or almost nine tons a year per vehicle, said Dawsongroup.

Simon Ridley, managing director (MD) of Dawsongroup, said: “We’re very excited to operate such an outstanding product.

“Driving can be very exhausting, especially when driving in congested areas, so the comfort and overall experience for the drivers has been a vital point in choosing which vehicle is right for us.

“We think it’s the right time to invest in electric vehicles (EVs) and more importantly, if we’re persuading customers to move to EVs we should be making the transition ourselves first. We are over the moon to be one of the first rental companies in the UK to transition to EVs.”

The company said the ambition is to replace the remainder with equivalent battery electric vehicles (BEVs) by 2023.

Steve Miller, chief executive officer (CEO) at Dawsongroup, said: “It’s exciting. We want to be not just up to date, but ahead of the curve. With this new fleet of eVito runners we are doing just that and gaining valuable operating experience to share with our customers.”

Dawsongroup Vans currently has 60 22kWh EV charge points installed at all 13 of their locations.

The company recently set up a team of advisers to assist customers and suppliers on their fleets route to net zero.

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