Building firm DR Jones Yeovil is set to reduce its carbon footprint and cut fuel costs after commencing a £1m investment with Lex Autolease to upgrade its fleet of vehicles.

The company, which is a division of The Jones Group, a regional building contractor with branches across the South West, has ordered 100 new vans and 10 cars from Lex Autolease to replace the ageing and costly vehicles in its fleet.

The first batch of 10 Citroen vans and two cars has been delivered to the Yeovil-headquartered company and once the full complement of 110 vehicles are operational The Jones Group will benefit from a 17 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions and a 20 per cent saving in its annual fuel bills.

This major investment is part of the company’s growth strategy that will in time see additional jobs created across its South West locations.

Dave Jones, managing director of The Jones Group, said: “It is our intention that over the next few years we will have replaced our existing fleet with the most eco-friendly and fuel efficient vans on the market.”

To identify the most suitable type of vehicle, Lex Autolease conducted a detailed review of the company’s working practices, which included assessing the different types of kit staff are required to carry and the distance they travel between jobs. 

Based on these findings Lex Autolease provided The Jones Group with four different types of van which have been customised to meet the needs of a specific role. They include engineer vans, gas fitter vans, multi-trade vans and supervisor vehicles.

After a period of evaluation, the Jones Group selected vehicles manufactured by Citroen and include the Nemo, Berlingo, Dispatch and Relay van categories. Each one is branded in the company’s corporate colours and benefits from a full accident management and maintenance service provided by Lex Autolease.      

Mark Porter, operations director for The Jones Group, said: “We made the decision to upgrade our fleet because the older vehicles we operate had become too expensive to run and maintain. As the scope and variety of our work increases it also became clear that these vehicles were not fit for purpose. 

“We choose Lex Autolease because they provide us with an end to end solution which covered all our needs. This included analysing the different types of jobs that we undertake in order to recommend the best choice of van, to providing liveried vehicles backed up by a comprehensive maintenance package.

“We are delighted with the first batch of vehicles. They create a great visual impression and will provide us with immediate environmental and fuel efficiency benefits.” 

Paul Gauntlett, senior business development manager at Lex Autolease, said: “We worked closely with the Jones Group for several months to help us gain a detailed understanding of their fleet requirements. This enabled us to structure a solution that aligns to their specific business needs and provide vehicles that could immediately be used by their employees. We look forward to delivering further batches of vehicles to them later this year.”  

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