Fancy running a van for 2p per mile and saving an average of £300 per year on running costs?

That’s what Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is expecting to do as a result of swapping a standard diesel van for a new Nissan e-NV200 Combi electric van.

According to Nissan, total cost of ownership is expected to be £1,200 lower than a comparable diesel vehicle over a four year ownership period.

The Combi model was chosen to balance seating capacity with load capacity, and Solihull Council’s first electric vehicle will be used by its Neighbourhood Services team to co-ordinate community projects such as park improvements and sport facilities such as skate parks.

As with so many vans, this e-NV200 won’t stray that far from its base — ever — so the official 106 mile range should be more than adequate.

The council is happy so far and will consider more electric vehicles, according to Councillor Tony Dicicco, who is Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Regeneration:

“The e-NV200 has shown us just how electric vehicles can work for us.

“From our perspective, the technology has come so far that every time a department has a need for a new vehicle or a lease comes up for renewal we’ll be looking to see if there’s a viable electric option.”

Launched last year, the Nissan e-NV200 combines the NV200 – a former International Van of the Year – with the proven technology of the record breaking Nissan LEAF – the world’s bestselling electric car.

The e-NV200 is available in panel van form with a 700kg payload, or as a five or seven-seat Combi crew cab model. Prices start from £13,568 in panel van form (including the government plug-in grant).