Rotterdam, 22 September 2009 – At the Ecomobiel exhibition and conference in Rotterdam, Eneco announced that it has signed contracts for the purchase of 50 Smith Ampere electric commercial vans, the electric version of the Ford Transit Connect, to be delivered in 2009 and 2010. The agreement is worth 2.3 million euros and was concluded with All Green Vehicles in Maasland and Roteb Lease in Rotterdam. This order is a concrete step in the replacement of 25% of Eneco’s total commercial vehicle fleet with electrically powered vehicles.
The purchase is part of Eneco’s sustainable strategy to replace 500 of its diesel fuelled commercial vans with electric versions within the next four years. In connection with this, initiator Eneco last week announced a tender for 300 commercial vans as part of the large scale tender for electric vehicles by the Urgenda Foundation, together with front runners from the corporate and government sectors. The contract for the 50 Smith Amperes comes on top of this.
At the same time as this purchase, charge spots that supply green electricity, the so-called NRGSPOTs, will be installed at the Eneco business premises and at the homes of the employees who will be using the electric cars.
As the oldest and largest producer of electric vehicles, Smith Electric Vehicles in the United Kingdom is market leader in this area. Eneco selected the Smith Ampere because it is a mature product and is readily available.
On behalf of Eneco, the contract was signed by Randy D’Hollosy, General Manager Support Services. ”Eneco wants to set an example. The initiative for this order is completely in line with our sustainable strategy.”
Peter Witvliet, Head of Roteb Lease, “Our goal, also on behalf of the municipality of Rotterdam, is to actually improve the air quality. In that respect, this initiative is a major step forward for all of us.”
Mart Noordam of All Green Vehicles, “Eneco is the first major Dutch company that implements electric transport to such an extent. We are proud of our good cooperation with Eneco and the fact that we can celebrate it with this splendid order.”
Technical details Smith Ampere commercial van:
- Action radius of 160 km
- Maximum speed of 120 km/h
- Weight 1600 kg
- Electricity consumption 0,13kWh per km
- Ford Connect basis
- 21 kWh Lithium-ion phosphate pack
- 45kW electric AC motor
- Payload 800 kg