NHS Lothian has significantly increased the number of Nissan electric vehicles on its fleet with the addition of 10 e-NV200 vans.

The 10 e-NV200 vans bring the total number of Nissan EVs run by NHS Lothian to 80 – more than 10% of its 700-strong vehicle pool

The order, made via Eastern Western Motor Group, takes the number of Nissan EVs run by NHS Lothian to 80 – more than 10% of the health board’s 700-strong vehicle pool. Another 45 vehicles on the fleet are EVs from other manufacturers.

Four of the latest batch of e-NV200s have been allocated to the Childsmile service, which aims to improve the oral health of youngsters by giving them easy access to all-important dental services.

The other six will perform a variety of functions, such as lab vans picking up specimens from GP surgeries, supporting adult dentistry and joining the estates team.

The addition of the latest EVs are part of ongoing work by NHS Lothian to further cut its carbon footprint on the back of recent reductions.

Spokesperson Simon Law said: “Our electrification journey has been under way for some time now and we couldn’t have chosen a better partner than Nissan. Both Leaf and e-NV200 are wonderfully versatile vehicles and incredibly popular with our team.

“Needless to say, we have learned lessons along the way but we can’t fault the comfort and convenience of our Nissan electric vehicles; nor their reliability and resilience to all kinds of driving conditions.

“The four e-NV200s allocated to Childsmile look particularly eye-catching in their cheerful new livery – and being zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles, they give the planet something to smile about, too!”

Karen Reid, corporate sales manager, Nissan Fleet Sales, also commented: “NHS Lothian has made huge strides in its decarbonisation journey in recent years and the team there deserve huge credit for their efforts.

“We’re delighted to have been a chosen manufacturer partner as they have been adding EVs to their vehicle pool and we look forward to the relationship continuing for many years to come.”