South Lanarkshire Council has taken delivery of 141 all-electric Renault Zoes, the order being the largest-ever placed for
Renault Z.E. electric vehicles in Scotland and reaffirms the council’s commitment to implementing low-carbon travel across its operations.
The majority of the vehicles will be used to switch its pool car fleet of 104 vehicles from diesel to fully electric power — all this business travel will now be free of carbon-dioxide and NOx emissions.
The remaining 37 Renault Zoes will be deployed across a range of other council. When in service the new arrivals will mean 28% of the council’s small fleet will now be fully electric. Funding for the Renault Zoes was made possible thanks to a grant of more than £1 million from Transport Scotland’s Switched on Fleets Programme.
The five-door cars will be charged via charging points that are already installed throughout the South Lanarkshire Council estate, with the council set to add more chargers in the near future.
Councillor John Anderson, chair of South Lanarkshire Council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, said: “We are delighted that these new EVs will help us on our journey to reduce the amount of emissions across our entire fleet. We are aware of the Scottish government’s targets to help fight climate change and we will continue to look at new and innovative ways to contribute.
“The early feedback we have had from staff using the vehicles is very positive, with many praising how far they can travel on a single charge as well as how comfortable and responsive they are to drive.”
Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity Michael Matheson said: “We’ve set a bold ambition to phase out the need for new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2032, but the public sector needs to lead from the front in terms of the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
“That is why last year we outlined an earlier target – phasing out the need for all new petrol and diesel cars from the public sector fleet by 2025.
“This is the largest order of its kind in Scotland, which will improve air quality, reduce emissions and help respond to the Climate Emergency – supporting our journey towards net-zero by 2045.”