Southampton continues to green its fleets

The Southampton City Council has taken delivery of 24 Renault Kangoo ZE vans, which will be used in the upkeep of the city and contribute to its goal of 90 per cent of its fleet to be zero-emission by 2030.

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The ambitious climate target of Southampton’s ‘Green City Plan 2030’ includes greening the Council’s own fleet. The choice for Renault’s electric van followed an official tender. The final order included one Crew Van version and a mixture of standard Panel Van and longer Maxi Panel body styles available in the Kango ZE range.

The new vans replace diesel vans in the Council’s fleet and will be used by various essential services, including neighbourhood wardens and waste operations teams. Southampton also opted for the heat pump, which Renault claims preserves driving range. Optional towbars also allow the Council to carry small trailers to help upkeep the city’s 49 parks, over 1,100 hectares of open space and cemeteries.

Vincent Tourette, Managing Director, Groupe Renault UK, said: “We are seeing a significant increase in the uptake of Renault electric vehicles by the public sector.” Indeed most recently, Leeds had ordered about 50 Kangoo ZE vans for a trial, as reported. Also, the Irish city of Cork had opted for Renault’s electric van that the company has made since 2011.

Just this June, though, Renault launched a new Kangoo ZE version for the UK market. The business trim sees the van double as a taxi or larger people transporter.

Back to Southampton – the city was also among the first designated future transport zones to set up e-scooter trials. The trials have since been widened for regions nationwide to test micromobility as reported.

Update 28 June 2023

The Southampton City Council is making inroads on the ‘Green City Plan 2030’ and has added ten new electric vans to its existing EV fleet. These new Vauxhall Combo-e vans replace diesel vehicles previously used by the Highway Services team.

The vehicles will be based at the City Depot, which already offers charging infrastructure. The depot also benefits from a large rooftop solar array allowing the Council to charge these vehicles with its own renewable energy.

renault.co.uk, commercialfleet.org, southampton.gov.uk (update June’ 23)