Construction firm Willmott Dixon is to trial an electric van for two months as part of its sustainability plans.

The firm is using the Nissan e-NV200 on its repairs and maintenance contract with Birmingham City Council. The van has a range, when fully charged, of approximately 85 miles. Charging points for the vehicle are located at a Nissan dealership located two miles from Willmott Dixon's College Road depot.

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During the course of the two months, data will be logged and mileage and battery usage will be recorded in comparison to equivalent fuel usage, under the same environmental test and weight conditions, against the firm's current diesel vehicles. It will then be decided if electric vehicles will be rolled out across Willmott Dixon's contracts nationally.

Willmott Dixon production manager Alan Considine said: "The Nissan electric vehicles can be driven for nearly 85 miles between charges, which means they could be useful on contracts with a compact geographical spread. We're optimistic the vehicle will offer significant environmental and cost benefits to aid our operations and look forward to reviewing the trial results."

(CD/JP)