Vehicle rental firm Northgate Vehicle Hire has expanded its eco-friendly van options after receiving 250 new Peugeot e-Experts. The new electric vehicles join the company’s 110,000-strong fleet, which is available to customers across the UK, Spain and Ireland.

The new vans, which were only launched in the UK this year, will be supplied by Simon Bailes Peugeot, a dealer with sites across North Yorkshire and Teesside. And the vehicles’ arrival follows interest from Kingstown Works Limited, the principal provider of housing maintenance, street lighting, and vehicle fleet services to Hull City Council, which ordered 13 new e-Expert’s earlier in the month.

Peugeot e-Expert

Northgate said its order was part of a plan to provide customers with less polluting vehicles, as well as reducing their costs. Tim Bailey, the company’s fleet director, said the new vans would allow customers to add electric vehicles to their fleets as quickly and painlessly as possible.

“We’re working to provide the latest electric vehicle options to help support carbon reduction,” he said. “By agreeing this initial deal with PEUGEOT for 250 new e-Experts, we can ensure that customers who want to use fit-for-purpose EVs in their fleets can do so quickly and with minimal impact on cashflow.”

The e-Expert was launched this summer, alongside Citroen and Vauxhall versions of the same vehicle. With top-of-the-range models boasting a 211-mile range from a single charge and the ability to fill the batteries to 80 percent in 30 minutes when hooked up to a 100 kW rapid charger, the van, is available with a choice of two battery packs, also comes with a 6.1-cubic-metre load space and a payload of up to 1,226 kg, depending on the version.

David Peel, the managing director of Peugeot UK, said the consignment of new electric vans would give users a “viable” alternative to a petrol- or diesel-powered vehicle.

“It’s great to be able to support such a large fleet provider like Northgate, as it works to offer customers a greater choice of electrified vehicles to suit their needs. By 2023, our entire vehicle fleet will feature an electrified variant, and our new Peugeot e-Expert is a crucial vehicle in our electrification strategy. It joins our growing fleet of electric vehicles, giving businesses and private users a viable, 100-percent electric alternative to conventional vehicles with no compromise in capability.”

Peugeot e-Expert