GEW (EC) Limited, based in Crawley, West Sussex, England is a leading manufacturer of UV curing equipment for the printing and coating industries. In October the company invested in a fleet of 8 new Toyota Auris hybrid cars for its team of service engineers to provide more efficient and environment-friendly transportation.

With a total fleet of over 20 vehicles with a high annual mileage to manage the benefits of changing to hybrid vehicles are significant. For the company the switch from Diesel to hybrid power is expected to yield savings in fuel and reduce costs associated with the London congestion charge and driving restrictions in city centres in France and Germany. From an environmental standpoint the change brings cleaner transport, cutting down on emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and toxic nitrogen oxides by as much as 30%.

Exhaust emissions are a major contributing factor to smog formation and poor environmental conditions. The lower emissions of the hybrid vehicles will help to improve air quality and reduce harmful effects on health.

Malcolm Rae, GEW’s managing director, comments on the changeover: “The benefits to the environment and the costs savings for our business are compelling reasons for us to change to hybrid vehicles. Our service engineers travel hundreds of thousands of miles every year in London, the South-East and all over Western Europe and the combined intrinsic issues of congested city centres and long motorway stretches make hybrid cars an attractive and cost-effective alternative. Using the hybrid powered engines in these driving conditions means little or no fuel is consumed.”