SFRS, the world’s fourth largest fire and rescue service, will use the zero-emissions-in-use Renault Zoe’s as general pool vehicles to be used by uniformed staff, office employees and management to interact with the public in non-emergency situations. These operations, including free home safety visits to community events, will be spread across the whole of Scotland, including all major cities and as far as Orkney and the Shetland Islands.
The new Zoe’s are SFRS’s first pure electric vehicles and represent the beginning of a significant shift in how it will evolve its fleet of nearly 1,800 vehicles. The Zoe’s will replace traditionally fuelled hatchbacks and currently account for nearly a quarter of SFRS’s pool car fleet. They will be based at strategic station locations throughout the country, with SFRS installing up to six charging points at each site. Aided by the vehicle’s flexible charging options, additional charging will also be carried out via ChargePlace Scotland – the country’s government-supported public EV charging network.
SFRS chose the Renault Zoe due to its ‘real-world’ range of 186 miles, comprehensive standard specification, ease-of-use and value all contributing to the organisation’s decision.
“The best way to deal with an emergency is to prevent it from happening, and the Zoe’s will play a vital role in how we engage with communities and deliver our crucial safety messages” said Scott Roberts, Fleet Manager, Scottish Fire & Rescue Service. “The Renault Zoe’s range and the vastly improved charging infrastructure means we have been able to spread them far and wide, and there’s not a nook or cranny of Scotland that one of our Zoe’s isn’t able to cover. Introducing them has been a major step in our future direction and while we have previously adopted hybrid technology with a handful of vehicles, they felt more like a box ticking exercise and never really worked on a practical or financial basis. With the Zoe, we can see that having environmentally-compatible electric vehicles is a viable business model, allowing us to reduce our carbon footprint, preserve the country we are so passionate about and provide our team with a vehicle that is perfect for their requirements.”
Mr Roberts added that the Zoe’s ease-of-use means that everyone has adapted to them very well and that with most people already having experience of driving an automatic the transition from SFRS’s previous pool cars has been very straightforward.
SFRS are also evaluating the Renault Kangoo Z.E. with a view to introducing it to its compact van fleet.
The Zoe is exempt from London’s Congestion Charge and ULEZ charges, plus road tax, and is therefore able to generate major savings after purchase. The vehicle is supported by a range of charging options, including rapid charging from 0-80 percent in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Alongside the Zoe, the Renault range of 100 per cent electric vehicles encompasses the Twizy quadricycle, the Kangoo Z.E. 33 Van and the New Master Z.E. Van.
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