Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) is introducing six electric vehicles into its delivery fleet to trial as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and generate efficiencies.
Three of the six Nissan e-NV200 vehicles, purchased from local car dealer Athol Garage, have arrived at Postal Headquarters and will be on delivery from today, trialled as part of a pilot to evaluate their efficiency and effectiveness on the Island's roads for use on deliveries and collections. The remaining three vans are due to be on the road by the end of August. If the vehicles prove to be a success, IOMPO will seek to introduce more electric vans into its fleet. The vans will be easy to spot around the Island as they are white with Post Office branding, rather than the traditional red livery.
Independent research as well as practical feedback obtained from our counterparts in Guernsey and Jersey who are already using the Nissan e-NV200 vehicles, show that the electric vans are suitable for island roads and the stop and start nature of our operation. They also have enough load capacity to deliver efficiently the ever increasing parcel volumes. The introduction of the electric vehicles forms part of IOMPO's values to drive innovation and creativity and supports its strategy of a customer focussed commercial and innovative culture. The vans are also in line with the aims to reduce carbon emissions and innovative approaches to making businesses more energy efficient as outlined in the Isle of Man's Programme for Government 2016-2021.
Lisa Duckworth, Isle of Man Post Office Interim Chief Executive, said: "Electric vehicles have come a long way in recent years and the current Nissan model is one of the best on the market. Our research has shown that other Posts have benefitted from similar vehicles, not only in saving costs, but also reducing their carbon footprint and we are looking forward to putting our new vehicles through their paces to explore how well they suit our Island operation."
John Higginbotham, Isle of Man Post Office Fleet Manager, said: "We are pleased to introduce the new electric vehicles to our fleet. Not only are they fantastic in helping reduce our overall carbon footprint on the Island, but they have also gone down well with our staff who have reported that the driving position and exiting of the vehicle is a lot better than the other vehicles in our fleet.
The white vans, which carry our usual branding, were purchased to distinguish them from the rest of the fleet but the intention post trial is to retain the fleet in its traditional colour."
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