An Post and Renault Ireland are joining forces in Ireland’s first ever on-the-road trial ofelectrically powered post vans.
The first Renault Kangoo Z.E. electric Postvan was unveiled at Dublin’s GPO last Friday andstarted trials on a cross-city Dublin collection and delivery route yesterday.
The detailed like-for-like study will compare the energy/fuel efficiency, maintenance costs andoverall performance of the Renault Kangoo Z.E. (electric) mini van against its traditional dieselcounterpart over designated city postal routes in Dublin, Cork and Galway over the next 12months.
An Post operates one of Ireland’s largest fleets with over 2,700 vehicles ranging from smallervans to large articulated vehicles. The company uses more than 7.5 million litres of dieselannually and in 2011, the company’s fleet-related fuel costs were in the region of €10million.
An Post Chief Executive Donal Connell explained that cost efficiency and environmentalsustainability are the driving forces behind the trial: “We are unique in how much of the countrywe cover every working day, delivering to 2.1 million business and home addresses in all kinds ofterrain, through all types of weather. An Post is constantly introducing more efficient andmore effective ways of working but new methods have to balance environmental and economicsustainability. We’re very pleased to be conducting this like-for-like trial with this calibre ofvehicle and we’re looking forward to reviewing the data with Renault Ireland over the comingmonths,” he added.
Eric Basset, Managing Director of Renault Ireland, reconfirmed the company’s commitment to thesuccess of the electric vehicle in Ireland: “We are delighted to launch this trial with An Post,the first of its type with the Renault Kangoo Z.E. in Ireland. The data established will be ofgreat benefit to other companies looking at incorporating Renault EVs into their fleet as we havebest offering of electric vehicles in terms of price, choice, benefits and range. The RenaultNetwork of dealerships in Ireland is fully trained in all aspects relating to electric vehiclesfrom technical training to sales and after sales training. Ireland is an ideal test bed in terms ofthe size of the country, as the average daily commute is less than 40km, the incentives are inplace and the vehicles are now here and ready to drive”.
The Renault Kangoo Z.E. postvans will be tested on a variety of An Post mail collection anddelivery routes and each vehicle’s energy usage and overall running costs monitored alongside thoseof the diesel model, of which An Post has currently 940 in its fleet.
