Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions and RAC sign five-year contract extension

Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions has extended its partnership with vehicle breakdown and recovery specialists RAC for a further five years.

Following the successful implementation of 773 new mission critical vehicles in 2013 and the ongoing delivery of cost savings totalling £1.7m through a systematic review of all elements of vehicle and supply chain costs, RAC has signed a new contract which will see Hitachi Capital fund and manage its fleet until at least December 2018.

Having initially started working together in January 2011, Hitachi Capital currently manages a fleet of around 1,600 LCVs and 50 HGVs for the RAC, comprising VW Transporters, VW Caddies, Ford Transits and DAF Trucks.

Hitachi Capital partnered with Bri-stor, a leading specialist vehicle conversion company, to introduce the 650 new vehicles to RAC’s mission critical fleet.

A mix of VW Transporters, Ford Transits and Mercedes Vitos used for patrol vehicles as well as Mercedes Sprinter and VW Crafter tyre repair vehicles were introduced with minimum disruption to fleet operations and with no negative impact to customers in the field.

Essentially a ‘garage on wheels’, the new patrol vehicles required a complex build before being added to RAC’s fleet. 

Hitachi Capital worked closely with Bri-Stor and RAC to outfit the vehicles with a complete workstation, winches, trailers, light bars and bespoke telecommunications equipment before delivery could take place.

The efficiency from Hitachi Capital during this process was a key reason for RAC renewing the contract.

David Aldridge, director of Business Services at the RAC, said: “We have enjoyed a great partnership with Hitachi Capital and are looking forward to continuing our working relationship with them.

“Introducing such a large volume of new vehicles to our fleet presented specific challenges, but with Hitachi Capital’s help we were able to manage it extremely effectively.”

Jon Lawes, divisional managing director of Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions, added: “We are delighted to have signed this new contract and continue our partnership with a flagship organisation.

“It was a big undertaking last year to build and introduce such a large volume of new mission critical vehicles to RAC’s fleet but our team took it in their stride and managed it professionally and with our customary attention to detail.”