The Port of Southampton has taken delivery of 10 Nissan e-NV200s as part of its aim to improve local air quality.
Associated British Ports (ABP) chose to make the electric switch after Southampton was named as one of five UK cities required to implement Clean Air Zones — charging the most polluting vehicles for driving in the city — by 2020. The e-NV200s, as well as three Nissan LEAF cars, will be used by ABP staff at the port, with new rapid charger points also set to be installed on the site.
Southampton was named by the World Health Organisation as one of 40 locations in the UK to breach air safety levels.
ABP Director Alastair Welch said, “As one of the city’s biggest employers and largest employment sites, we are keen to lead the way where we can. The introduction of these vehicles to our fleet will not only contribute to improvements in local air quality but will also reduce running costs.
“We plan to monitor the performance of the vehicles going forward to allow us to track environmental improvements. I hope we are able to replace an increasing number of vehicles in our fleet with electric or hybrid equivalents in the coming years as the available technology develops.”
The ten Nissan e-NV200s, which have a range of 106 miles on a single charge (based on New European Driving Cycle figures), and the Nissan LEAFs are the first all-electric vehicles in the ABP fleet, and the first step in a series of initiatives the company is planning to implement in the coming months to reduce its environmental impact.
