Renault helps Scottish fire service go green

The all-electric Renault Zoe will be helping to save lives and some of the UK’s most beautiful scenery after the Scottish Fire & Rescue Service (SFRS) ordered 45 to be used throughout Scotland in the support of its frontline operations.

SFRS, the world’s fourth largest fire and rescue service, will use the zero-emissions-in-use Renault ZOEs as general pool vehicles, with each covering at least 10,000 miles a year.

Replacing traditonally-fuelled hatchbacks, they will be used by uniformed staff, office employees and management to interact with the public in non-emergency situations, which span free home safety visits to community events, and will be spread across the whole of Scotland, including all major cities and as far as Orkney and the Shetland Islands.

Renault says this Zoe deal is proof that electric vehicles are now a viable business proposition. Combined with the Scottish Government’s sizeable investment in charging infrastructure, SFRS is committed to moving to an entirely electric fleet (currently totally nearly 1,000 vehicles).

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 ZOEs 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 ZOEs isn’t able to cover.”