More than 350 new Fiat commercial vehicles are being delivered to a leading UK power supplier in a deal that highlights the vans’ efficiency and low ownership costs. Scottish Southern Energy (SSE) will take 273 Fiat Fiorino 1.3 MultiJet SX and 79 Fiat Doblò Cargo 1.3 MultiJet SX vans over the next three months for use by the firm’s metering division.

The new vans are being made available from Fiat Professional, Fiat UK’s commercial vehicle division, through a five-year, fully maintained contract hire deal funded by Lex Autolease, and have been specially prepared for this particular activity. All the vehicles will have a newly-designed bespoke racking system, while the Fiorinos come with passenger airbag, larger 15-inch wheels, Michelin energy saving tyres, parking sensors and panelled bulkheads. The Doblò Cargos are equipped with panelled bulkheads and parking sensors as standard. A small number of the vans – for use in central London – will also feature Fiat’s Comfort Matic semi-automatic gearbox. And in addition to the solid blue colour, all vans will be half-wrapped in SSE logos.

“The vehicles were chosen for their superior engine technology and adaptability,” says Colin Parnell, regional corporate sales manager, Fiat Group Fleet. “We were able to offer excellent load space with side door access, class-leading CO2 figures and even an ECU speed limiter – set to 69mph – for duty of care. We are delighted to have won this deal.”

“The Fiorinos portray a fresh new identity for SSE,” says Grahame Neagus, head of Lex Autolease specialist commercial vehicle unit. “And that, coupled with the vehicles’ comfort, practicality and functionality, made them an obvious choice for this contract. One objective was to lower CO2 levels across the SSE fleet and this deal with Fiat Professional will help to achieve that.”

The Fiat Fiorino range starts at £8,905 plus VAT for the Cargo 1.4 8-valve Petrol 75 (from 119g/km CO2), while the Doblò Cargo range (from 139g/km CO2) opens with the 1.4 MPI 8-valve Petrol at £10,335 plus VAT.