The Welsh Ambulance Service has added the first fully electric vehicles to its fleet.

A total of 10 Maxus eDeliver 5 vehicles have joined the trust’s 800-strong fleet along with a further 20 Ford Transit Custom plug-in hybrids.

The fleet newcomers are the result of a £22.4m investment by Welsh Government in replacement vehicles, supporting the trust’s ambition to reduce its carbon footprint while also helping to improve the experience of patients and staff.

David Holmes, fleet manager at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “These vehicles represent a major step forward not just in sustainability, but in comfort and safety.

“They’re equipped with a range of driver assistance technologies, like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist and blind spot assist, all of which help reduce driver fatigue and enable our crews to focus fully on patient care.

“We’re immensely proud of these cleaner and greener vehicles, which support both our own decarbonisation agenda and Welsh Government’s goal for a carbon net zero public sector by 2030.”

The single responder vehicles, which will be used predominantly by Advanced Paramedic Practitioners and Cymru High Acuity Response Unit paramedics, can be found across Wales, including in Wrexham, Aberystwyth, Gelli, Bryncethin, Neath, Swansea, Blackwood and Cardiff.

Paramedics will be able to recharge their vehicles at numerous charging points at stations across Wales.

Ed Roberts, the trust’s acting director of finance, said: “As the national ambulance service for Wales, improving air quality is a key priority for us, not just for our people and patients but for the wellbeing of communities across Wales, now and in the future.

“With demand on our service increasing year-on-year, it’s more important than ever to have an efficient fleet which literally keeps the wheels turning on our ambulance service.

“We’d like to extend a sincere thanks to the Welsh government and to colleagues across the service who have collaborated to make this possible.”