Given that the island of Jersey is only about 12 miles long, you’d have to wonder why local businesses are not all using electric vehicles already. Range anxiety is unlikely to be a problem and the winters are mild, reducing the chances of cold weather performance problems.

It seems that Jersey Post — at least — is getting the message. The Channel Island’s postal service recently bought 15 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans to use for mail delivery across Jersey.

Jersey Post Nissan e-NV200 van

The electric vans are the first electric vehicles to be added to the company’s fleet of more than 100 vehicles and their purchase follows an 18-month trial.

Andy Jehan, Director of Operations at Jersey Post, now seems to have the bit between his teeth. Mr Jehan sounds like an enthusiastic convert to electric vehicles:

“The Nissan e-NV200 was the right vehicle for us on every level. The vans are going to make a very significant contribution in our ambition to lower the environmental impact of our fleet and help preserve the beauty of our island – both in terms of carbon emissions and noise – and they’re also ideal for the short distance, stop/start driving that the job involves.

“The value is exceptional too, our decision to switch being ultimately based on the financial projections we have made on whole life costs. If our projections prove accurate, then there’s no reason why many more of our vehicles shouldn’t be electric.”

The addition of the advanced all-electric vans will reduce Jersey Post’s carbon footprint by 35 tonnes a year. Nissan’s 100,000 miles, five-year warranty means that Jersey Post shouldn’t have any worrise about reliability issues — the vans were supplied and will be maintained by the island’s own Nissan dealer.

Nissan claims that low running costs mean that the e-NV200 will cost £1,200 less to run than a conventional diesel van over four years. Given the low mileage, stop-start conditions for driving on the Channel Islands, you’d have to imagine that if the e-NV200 vans are trouble free, local sales of electric cars and vans could rocket.