Mobility solutions expert, Fraikin, has strengthened its partnership with premium food distributor Classic Fine Foods, winning a competitive tender for the supply of 15 new 3.5-tonne electric vans, as part of a five-year contract hire deal.
The management of Fraikin, a leading pan-European provider of commercial vehicle leasing and fleet solutions platform, today announced that affiliates of its ultimate majority shareholders, Benefit Street Partners, Värde Partners and Canyon Partners, have entered into an exclusive agreement with Asterion Industrial Partners (“Asterion”), an independent investment management firm focused on mid-market infrastructure in Europe, relating to the contemplated acquisition of Fraikin.
Logistics services business Wilson James has partnered with Fraikin for the supply of its first zero tailpipe emission heavy goods vehicle (HGV), acquiring a 26-tonne DAF XD Electric rigid on a five-year full-service contract hire agreement.
The UK's contract hire market continues to play an important role in helping operators navigate rising costs, compliance requirements and the transition to new vehicle technologies.
For many fleets, the discussion is no longer simply about how vehicles are funded, but also about finding a specialist partner that can help maximise uptime, maintain compliance, improve operational efficiency and provide greater cost certainty in an increasingly complex operating environment.
Mobility solutions expert Fraikin has strengthened its relationship with Loreburn Housing Association with the delivery of a new 3.5-tonne van on full-service contract hire, a deal built on the positive impact Fraikin’s powerful MYSMARTFLEET connected technology platform has had on driver performance.
Many organisations take comfort from the fact that their vehicles are maintained, their drivers have the prerequisite qualifications and their records are up to date. However, fleet compliance is designed to establish a minimum acceptable standard – a genuine safety-focused approach requires operators to look a little deeper.
Putting safety front and centre involves things like identifying recurring defects, understanding patterns of vehicle downtime and analysing maintenance data to spot issues before they have the potential to affect drivers, passengers or other road users.
Following the culmination of a complex two-year project to develop one of the most configurable, non-emergency patient transport solutions ever seen in the UK, G4S has taken delivery of an initial proof of concept vehicle, with 161 more set to follow on full-service contract hire from Fraikin.
The recent approval of legislation for 4.25-tonne alternatively fuelled light commercial vehicles marks a genuine step forward for operators across the UK.
Before this development, these assets sat in a challenging position, as the law treated them much like heavy goods vehicles in several key respects. As a result, uptake has not always matched the industry’s wider ambitions for fleet decarbonisation.