Yodel calls on low-emission Mercedes-Benz van fleet

More than 400 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans have taken to the road in the striking colours of Yodel, a new brand in the parcel delivery sector.

Yodel is the new corporate identity of Home Delivery Network and its subsidiary Parcelpoint. The brand has been launched following the company’s acquisition of the domestic B2B and B2C businesses of DHL Express (UK) Limited earlier this year.

Now the second-largest parcel delivery operator in the UK, Yodel runs a fleet of 5,000 vans which work from eight national hubs and more than 120 service centres.

Its new Sprinters are the first vehicles to wear the company’s eye-catching all-over vinyl wrap livery, designed in a range of vivid colours and applied by AstSigns, of Penrith.

Jonathan Smith, CEO of Yodel, declared: “We are very excited to see the physical manifestation of our new brand taking shape. The introduction of this new livery marks the start of a phased roll-out across our network, with many more vans to follow next year.

“We are committed to investing in all areas of our business, and investment in the fleet is key to maintaining a successful and reliable operation. It will also become our iconic representation of the brand, supporting our ongoing strategy of building awareness.

“The distinctive design reflects our confidence in the ability of our business and the new brand to achieve real stand-out in the marketplace.”

The Sprinter 313CDI Medium vans were supplied by Bolton dealer Ciceley Commercials with support from Mercedes-Benz UK’s fleet van sales team. All are powered by low-emission Euro 5 engines and, to make them even ‘greener’, most are fitted with the innovative ECO-Start system.

This device automatically cuts the engine whenever a vehicle is stationary for longer than two seconds – in heavy traffic or at lights, for example – and then starts it again as soon as the driver depresses the clutch. For routes which involve stop-start driving through busy town and city centres, ECO-Start can produce significant reductions in fuel consumption and, by extension, exhaust emissions.

Brian Wheadon, Support Services Director, explained: “The availability of the ECO-Start system, combined with the excellent fuel efficiency of the Sprinter’s low-emission Euro 5 engine, played a large part in persuading us to place this order with Mercedes-Benz.

“Equally important, though, was the vehicle’s proven reliability – we’ve been running Sprinters on the Home Delivery Network fleet for some years now and they’ve proven themselves to be highly dependable.”