30 December 2024
The AA has reinforced its drive towards net zero by 2035 by adding 30 full-electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to its ever-growing low-carbon roadside service fleet.
In December, the UKs largest motoring organisation entered 15 BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) and 15 PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles) Ford Transit Customs into its roadside service fleet. This will be the first major trial of plug-in vehicles in the organisation's core yellow roadside assistance vans and the vehicles will operate in strategic locations across Britain including Birmingham, Bristol, Glasgow, Nottingham, Liverpool and London.
“The famous yellow van has seen countless improvements over the decades, but few innovations can be more important than the latest”
The iconic yellow vans will undergo a series of structured tests while in use in ‘real-world’ conditions. Tests will include the practicality of home and strategic charging, efficiency tests when laden with patrol technical equipment, core stock and recovery equipment whilst retaining a focus on customer and patrol comfort. All patrols in the trial will have chargers installed at home to enable low-carbon ways of working with both home and on-the-go charging supported by our partners at Rightcharge. Both models of the Ford Transit Custom will be capable of towing with the PHEV van having a full compact recovery trailer (CRT) set-up. The BEV model has a range of up to 236 miles but initial usage predicts a range (which includes towing) of c.120 miles
The AAs Fleet Engineering team has worked extensively with suppliers FordPro, and Bristor to develop a vehicle that meets the required objectives. All involved are confident that the end product will mean cleaner, smoother and a more efficient product that also ticks all the boxes for its roadside patrols. By the start of 2025, over 50 zero or low-emissions vehicles will be included in AA’s ‘test and scale’ trials across our van and truck fleet. The vast range of applications vary from Mobile Mechanics workshops to AA Key Assist workspaces to Roadside Patrol vans to a slide-bed recovery trucks.
This latest move confirms The AAs commitment to reduce its emissions by further expanding its ‘test and scale’ approach which saw them become the first UK-based roadside assistance firm to add a trio of full electric recovery vehicles to its 240-strong recovery fleet in May this year.
Duncan Webb, AA’s head of fleet, said: “The famous yellow van has seen countless improvements over the decades, but few innovations can be more important than the latest, which sees our ever-reliable fleet of Ford Transit Customs begin its transition to BEV and PHEV.
“The performance of the low-emissions vehicles we launched earlier this year continues to achieve or exceed our expectations. The results, so far, have proved that our “test and scale” approach remains, for us, the most common-sense way of tackling what are unprecedented challenges. The performance of our fully electric Volvo FE Slidebed has not only provided a unique driving experience for our expert patrols but has delivered exceptional mileage range in all conditions.
“The same can be said for our Iveco eDaily Powerload and Iveco eDaily crew vans equipped with a heavy-duty Compact Recovery Trailer (CRT). These vehicles became the first operational EV recovery trucks of their kind in the UK, and the early signs are very encouraging. If current trends shown in our ‘test and scale’ approach continue, our strategy could prove pivotal in moving The AA move ever closer to achieving its goal of becoming a net zero organisation by 2035.”