Warmer Energy switches to Mercedes-Benz vans
Heating services supplier Warmer Energy evaluated vans from no fewer than six vehicle manufacturers before choosing a new fleet – and came down firmly in favour of Mercedes-Benz.
The Liverpool-based company is now running 30 new Citan 109 CDI Long vans, as well as 15 larger Vito 113 CDIs with Long bodies, all delivered by local dealer Road Range.
They are used by Warmer Energy’s heating engineers, builders and electricians to transport themselves, their tools and materials to working sites across Cheshire, Lancashire and Merseyside.
Fleet Manager Alex Garrity and the Warmer Energy Board invited suppliers to present their proposals, including projected costs over a three-year lease term, before drawing up a short list of three.
“Cost was a major factor of course, but it wasn’t the whole story,” he recalls. “We’ve operated leased vehicles before and we know that the quality of the back-up is just as important, to ensure that vans are kept on the road for the maximum amount of time.
“Road Range’s Wavertree workshop is open round-the-clock while the dealer also provides Mercedes-Benz Service 24h emergency breakdown cover with extremely quick response times.
“We completed a detailed cost analysis and calculated that, compared to the amount we paid to keep our previous fleet on the road last year, these new Mercedes-Benz vans will actually save us money.”
He continues: “They’re also comfortable, extremely smart looking and understandably popular with our drivers. The standard specification is very high and negated the need to pay for extras such as Bluetooth connectivity.”
The Citan marks the entry of Mercedes-Benz into the small van market. The range combines market-leading fuel efficiency of up to 65.7 mpg with CO2 emissions as low as 112 g/km. The Citan also has a volume carrying capacity of up to 3.8 m³ and a maximum payload potential of 735 kg.
Given the sector within which it operates, Warmer Energy is also conscious of the need to minimise the effect of its operations on the environment. Most of its new vans are therefore BlueEFFICIENCY models, which come with an array of features designed to further reduce diesel consumption and exhaust emissions.
“The service we received from Road Range was excellent too,” Mr Garrity concludes. “Sales executive Robert Gerrard was extremely helpful throughout the evaluation process and has also stayed in regular contact since the new vehicles were handed over.”
For more information, visit warmerenergyservices.com.
