Can vans be eco-friendly?
Vans do release more CO2 into the atmosphere than other vehicle types. Because vans are bigger and tend to use more fuel, they have higher emissions.
Diesel vans are powered by fossil fuel, so they do release CO2 into the air. The average CO2 emissions for diesel vans are 161.2 g CO 2 /km, That is within EU targets (for now) to help cut emissions.
But if you want to hop on the green trend you’ll want to find the lowest emission van possible that still gets you to where you need to be.
What are green vans?
Green vans are another name for eco-friendly vans that have low CO2 emissions. Yes, some of them are actually green in colour!
What are the most eco-friendly green vans?
The greenest vans out there are electric vans that are ultra-low emissions. Because they run on electricity, electric vans don’t release much (if any) emissions into the atmosphere.
Hybrid vans aren’t as common, but hybrid vehicles have lower emissions than their diesel counterparts. They usually run-on petrol and an electric motor, so you get the best of both worlds.
Petrol vans tend to have lower CO2 emissions than diesel, but only make up a small percentage of the market.
Finally, diesel vans have some of the highest emissions but are improving. If you want a diesel van, but want to help the environment, there are a couple of options out there for you. But businesses are making the transition to greener vans.
What are the most eco-friendly diesel vans?
Some petrol and diesel vans are more eco-friendly than most. If you bought a new diesel van that was made after September 2016, you would meet the low emission standard according to EU law.
It’s true that the greenest vans out there are electric, but we’ve put together the most efficient vans of each type so you can find the one that best fits your company.
Ford Transit PHEV
Green hybrid van
There are very few hybrid vans on the market, but the Ford Transit is highly customisable. The van uses Ford’s techy EcoBoost engine combined with an electric battery to run at the ultra-low emission level. However, the van only has a range of 27 miles on electric-only. Most of the time, you’ll be switching from its petrol engine to electric or using the van’s combination mode to increase your range.
Nissan NV300
Efficient diesel van
Diesel vans are getting more efficient, but the Nissan NV300 stands out against the rest. With an emission level of 155 g/km, there are few diesel passenger vans that can match the Nissan NV300.
Perhaps 155 g/km sounds like a lot, but the highest we found on the market was 356g/km. Some businesses don’t want to go to electric or hybrid, but if you want to cut your emissions there are still some greener options out there for your business.
Mercedes-Benz eSprinter
Green electric van
The eSprinter is a fully electric van with a combined range of around 82 to 95 miles on a full charge. The eSprinter is a popular van for its efficiency and option rapid charge battery, which can get you up to near full in 30 minutes. Thanks to its ultra-low emission status, the eSprinter is exempt from ULEZ and congestion charges.