Port of Southampton takes on 13 Nissan electric vehicles

The Port of Southampton has taken delivery of 10 Nissan e-NV200s and three Nissan LEAF cars, to be used by Associated British Port (ABP) staff.

ABP chose to make the electric switch after Southampton was named as one of five UK cities required to implement Clean Air Zones — charging the most polluting vehicles for driving in the city — by 2020. Southampton was named by the World Health Organisation as one of 40 locations in the UK to breach air safety levels, mainly due to vehicle emissions.

ABP Director Alastair Welch said: “As one of the city’s biggest employers and largest employment sites, we are keen to lead the way where we can.

“The introduction of these vehicles to our fleet will not only contribute to improvements in local air quality but will also reduce running costs.

“We plan to monitor the performance of the vehicles going forward to allow us to track environmental improvements. I hope we are able to replace an increasing number of vehicles in our fleet with electric or hybrid equivalents in the coming years as the available technology develops.”

Facilitated through West Way Southampton, the Nissans are the first all-electric vehicles in the ABP fleet, and the first step in a series of initiatives the company is planning to implement in the coming months to reduce its environmental impact. Permanent rapid chargers are set to be fitted on site soon.