- Rental car and van agency, Europcar, has added a ‘significant volume’ of small-sized electric vans to its UK rental fleet.
- Available on longer term leases of three months and higher, Europcar hopes the addition will serve as a low-cost entry into the eLCV market for businesses, particularly those smaller businesses with less expendable budget.
- The new electric vans being added to its rental fleet include the Vauxhall Combo Electric and the Renault Kangoo E-Tech.
Europcar expands its EV rental offerings
These two models have a wide range of business uses, thanks to both offering range near or above the 200 mile mark, and maximum payloads in the 700kg region. Businesses that take on these leases, at a much lower price than an outright purchase, may decide that these electric vans work perfectly for their business – and with much lower running costs than their ICE counterparts. Electric van confidence inspired from this could then stimulate growth of the UK’s eLCV market, further down the line.
On the passenger car side, Europcar’s UK division already offers EV models at many of it depots, at a similar price to their petrol and diesel counterparts. However, until now, its electric van offerings in the UK have been limited to some larger models such as the Mercedes-Benz eVito. This expansion into offering a wider portfolio of fully-electric vans is a key move for the brand, as it continues to pivot towards zero-emission mobility.
Head of Europcar Vans and Trucks, Keith Shorter, commented:
“While the electric car parc is growing significantly and businesses have greater confidence in their use, when it comes to electric vans the confidence is less evident. Latest data shows that electric vans represent around 1.4% of all LCVs on UK roads. As the BVRLA has identified in its ‘Van Plan’, there are several hurdles organisations are finding hard to overcome, not least of which is the cost of entry. Winning the hearts and minds of drivers who will need to adapt to electric van usage is also critical. Our goal is to make electric commercial motoring more accessible for more businesses by providing a choice of compact electric vans that can serve multiple use-cases.”
