A LANCASHIRE dairy is milking the benefits of the award-winning Nissan e-NV200 – using the versatile all-electric van as a 21st-century version of the traditional British milk float.
Grimshaw Lane Dairy in Ormskirk has taken delivery of four e-NV200 vans from Crosby Park Nissan in Liverpool and is using them to make its daily deliveries to homes and businesses in and around the town.
The four vehicles – named Tilly, Bovine, Ermintrude and Daisy by the drivers – have replaced a fleet of aging diesels and each covers around 50 miles a day making roughly 500 deliveries apiece.
And Managing Director Andrew Brown, who plans to swap his two remaining diesel vehicles with e-NV200s in the coming months, is already saving £900 a month in fuel bills.
What’s more, the generous spec’ and smooth drive of the e-NV200 means driver morale is now at an all-time high and residential customers are happy as early morning deliveries, which start at 1.30am, are now made in near silence.
A delighted Andrew said: “Switching to the Nissan e-NV200 was a no brainer for us. Basically the savings we’re making on the fuel have paid for the contract hire on the vans and we’ll be saving on the maintenance too.
“We’ve effectively got four new vans for what we’d have been spending on fuel.”
When considering the e-NV200, Andrew was impressed that the model came with two sliding side doors as standard and offered easy cross-cab access, perfect for multi-drop delivery operations.
Driver satisfaction was also a major consideration, but equipment levels on board the e-NV200 – particularly the ability to defrost their vehicles from an app on their phones before getting up to start their shifts in the early hours – has proved an instant hit.
The environmental benefits of the e-NV200, which offers zero emissions mobility, were also a major bonus.
Andrew added: “There’s nobody greener than a milkman. In terms of food miles nothing can compete with us and we recycle everything.
“Having a fleet of vehicles that fit perfectly with that whole ethos is fantastic.”
Launched last year, the Nissan e-NV200 combines the NV200 – a former International Van of the Year – with the proven technology of the record breaking Nissan LEAF – the world’s bestselling electric car.
In costs just two pence per mile to run and users also benefit from low maintenance costs that make for unrivalled total cost of ownership – £1,200 lower than a conventional diesel van over four years.
Meanwhile, the model, which is priced from £13,393 in panel van form (incorporating PiVG) offers a class-leading 4.2m3 capacity and an impressive 703kg payload.
