NHS Lothian expands electric van fleet with Nissan e-NV200

NHS Lothian has bolstered its plug-in fleet by adopting 10 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans from Eastern Western Motor Group.

The order takes the number of Nissan electric vehicles (EVs) run by NHS Lothian to 80 – a figure that represents more than 10% of the health board’s 700-strong fleet. Another 45 vehicles on the fleet are EVs from other manufacturers.

The latest batch of e-NV200s will be put to good use immediately. Four of them have been allocated to the Childsmile service which aims to improve the oral health of youngsters by giving them easy access to all-important dental services.

The other six will perform a variety of functions such as lab vans (picking up specimens from GP surgeries); supporting adult dentistry; and joining the hard-working estates team.

NHS Lothian’s Simon Law said: ‘‘Our electrification journey has been under way for some time now and we couldn’t have chosen a better partner than Nissan. Both Leaf and e-NV200 are wonderfully versatile vehicles and incredibly popular with our team.

‘‘Needless to say, we have learned lessons along the way, but we can’t fault the comfort and convenience of our Nissan electric vehicles, nor their reliability and resilience to all kinds of driving conditions.”

Karen Reid, corporate sales manager at Nissan Fleet Sales, added: ‘‘NHS Lothian has made huge strides in its decarbonisation journey in recent years and the team there deserve huge credit for their efforts.

‘‘We’re delighted to have been a chosen manufacturer partner as they have been adding EVs to their vehicle pool and we look forward to the relationship continuing for many years to come.’’