A Nottinghamshire council is aiming to cut its carbon emissions and save fuel with the addition of five Ashwoods Hybrid Transits to its fleet.
The light commercial vehicles area mixture of medium and long wheelbase Ford Transit chassis cabs with dual rear wheels and fitted with tipper bodies.
The Ashwoods Hybrid drive technology reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 15-25%. The system is entirely self-powered; it stores energy every time the vehicle slows down then transfers it to the wheels via an electric motor. Unlike other hybrids or electric vehicles, it never needs plugging into a charging point - and operators don't have to worry about the battery going flat.
All of Ashfield's hybrid vehicles are also fitted with Ashwoods' Lightfoot driver behaviour system. Lightfoot advises the driver on how to operate the van in the most fuel-efficient manner by using real-time audio and visual aids in the cab. The technology is proven to deliver an average 15% improvement in fuel consumption.
"A lot of green vehicles do cut carbon but come at a premium price, require extra driver training and usually the installation of refuelling or recharging infrastructure. The Ashwoods Hybrid Transit vehicle doesn't have any of these drawbacks. It is cost-effective to purchase and will actually lower our fleet fuel spend and reduce CO2 output," reasons David White, transport services manager for Ashfield District Council.
Ashfield District Council deploys the vehicles to support a range of tasks across the district within the Environmental Services Team. Thanks to a Department for Transport subsidy, the council was able to purchase the five vehicles for the equivalent cost of standard diesel vans. However, the hybrids can be up to 25% more fuel-efficient than the vehicles they replace.