VCS lightweight Ambulance can save services £1.4 million in fuel costs

Ambulance conversion specialist VCS claims that its Dual Crewed Ambulance could save up to £1.4 million in fuel costs over five years, due to its lightweight construction.

The converted Fiat Ducato recorded a reduction in fuel use of 10% per vehicle, during tested carried out at Millbrook. VCS says that each ambulance could save more than 500 litres of fuel per year.

For an ambulance fleet of 480 vehicles, this equates to 1.2 million litres of fuel over five years, which is an ambulance’s typical lifetime on a fleet. At today’s fuel prices, this equates to a cost saving of £1.4 million.

Mark Kerrigan, managing director of VCS, said: “For nearly 11 years our engineering and design experts have worked diligently to reduce weight throughout our ambulance range. The results of our test programme in our next generation DCA are extremely encouraging and a strong step towards lower emissions from emergency service vehicles.

“We’re delighted to see a reduction in NOx, which can be so harmful to the health of society’s most vulnerable, while also proving that the DCA can help ambulance services to reduce their carbon footprint and make considerable savings on fuel and running costs.”

With a gross vehicle weight of 4,250kg, the vehicle is around 7% lighter in a full operational setting than its next closest rival.

Coupled with lower maintenance costs, ambulance services can expect to save more than £2,900 per vehicle over the course of its life.

Testing also showed a 5.7% reduction in CO2 emissions, which equates to a saving of more than 2,300 tonnes over five years for a fleet of 480 vehicles. It also recorded a 12.9% reduction in Nox, meaning the DCA could play a significant role in reducing ambulance services’ impact on air quality.