The East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EMAS) has replaced its entire fleet of non-emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) cars in Derbyshire with the fully electric Kia e-Niro.
“The move will reduce the trust’s emissions by 96 tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent (tCO2e) per year,” KIA UK’s press office said Thursday.
The emergency medical and patient transport services provider for Midlands region tested different types of EVs for its Derbyshire NEPTS service and decided on Kia's best-selling EV, the Korean automaker said, with the Trust already taking 16 deliveries.
“We’re really pleased to have been able to introduce these fully electric, zero-emissions vehicles to our fleet,” said Andy Watson, Fleet Assistant General Manager for EMAS. “With these vehicles now fully operational, we are immediately putting them into service as we respond to the needs of our patients.”
All the electric NEPTS vehicles are fitted with satellite navigation as standard, which can also alert the driver to the nearest available charging station when required, the company said.
EMAS said their NEPTS vehicles complete 90 miles per day on average and the Kia e-Nitro can deliver up to 282 miles on a full charge, which is enough to last a few days without the need of a recharge. These cars are comfortable for staff, which is important for 12-hour shifts, and the patients have given positive feedback, EMAS added. These EVs are slightly larger than EMAS’s previous cars, which helps patients get up from the seated position as there is plenty of legroom in the rear. The added feature of heated seats for the winter is another advantage.
This latest rollout of electric vehicles at EMAS is part of the organisation’s ongoing commitment to becoming a net zero trust by 2040.
“Our operational fleet accounts for 65% of the emissions we control directly,” said Stacie Scullion, Sustainability, Energy and Compliance Manager at EMAS. “Changing 16 diesel cars in Derbyshire to electric vehicles will reduce our fleet emissions by 96 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) per year and will have the greatest benefit to reducing our overall climate impact.”
Deliveries for Kia Niro EV will start this summer in the UK, the company said. Pre-orders for the second-generation Kia Niro EV opened recently, with the first customer deliveries of the all-new model due to start in the UK this summer.
Like its predecessor, the all-new model is available with a hybrid, plug-in hybrid or fully electric powertrain, with prices for the popular Niro EV starting from £34,995 on-the-road.
The all-new Niro EV is equipped with a long-range 64.8 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack and a 201 bhp (150 kW) electric motor. Torque is rated at 255 Nm, and the car can accelerate from 0-to-62 mph in 7.8 seconds. The car’s electric driving range is rated at 285 miles on the WLTP combined cycle. The Niro EV sits alongside the EV6 and Soul EV in Kia’s fully electric line-up. Globally, Kia plans to offer a line-up of 14 EVs by 2027, the company said.