The Mercedes-Benz eVito is an electric van suitable for countless different roles, proven by the diverse range of customers taking delivery of the zero-emissions LCV.
Beannachar Camphill Community School
Founded over 40 years ago, Beannachar is one of 11 independent Camphill Community schools in Scotland. Set on a 28-acre estate near the River Dee, the school is attended by 20 residential and 16 day students with learning difficulties. A team of 30 staff members and volunteers also live on-site.
Only a couple of miles from Aberdeen, Beannachar
enjoys a peaceful rural setting – but the price for this pastoral idyll is a lack of public transport, with the nearest bus stop more than a mile away.
Beannachar took advantage of grant schemes that support flexible and accessible community-led solutions. The school now runs some fully electric Mercedes-Benz eVito Tourers, meaning students and staff can travel to and from the site safely and comfortably while minimising potential harm to the local environment.
“Beannachar supports young adults with learning disabilities to discover and strengthen their unique talents and latent potential as they transition into adulthood,” explained Andrea Spence-Jones, community director. “The vehicles are available for residential staff and volunteers to book, via a transport-sharing scheme, so they can provide informal support for students and enjoy shared interests.
“The scheme has distinct environmental and social advantages and breaks down barriers between ‘cared-for’ and ‘caregivers’. Staff and students have been making great use of these vehicles throughout the summer, and the ability to travel whenever required is really helping to enrich their daily lives.
“Our battery-powered eVito Tourers are ideal for this role. Both students and staff really appreciate the fact that they’re now able to make more sustainable choices when it comes to mobility. The students are very proud of their vehicles and enjoy the fact that they run almost silently, which makes a huge difference to a person with sensory issues who previously had to endure noisy diesel engines in our old minibuses.”
“The reduced running cost of these vehicles also produces a significant saving, which can be reinvested to the benefit of our students,” added Spence-Jones. “The ethos of Camphill Communities stresses the importance of caring for our environment and surroundings, and we’re delighted that reducing pollution by using electric vehicles allows us to take a significant stride toward Net Zero.”
Head-on Electrical
Hull-based Head-on Electrical is switching its entire van fleet to clean, green battery power. The firm runs a fleet of 12 vans — each racked to carry tools, cabling and other components used by its electricians — to support its electricians working for a wide range of commercial and domestic clients, including installing electric vehicle recharging points.
Established in 2009 by brothers Tony and James Fethon, Head-on now employs a team of 35 who work across Hull and the East of Yorkshire.
“Given that an increasing amount of our work is in the provision of charging infrastructure to help customers switch over to electric vehicles, it makes obvious sense for us to be running battery-powered vans on our own fleet,” commented Tony Fethon.
“This Mercedes-Benz eVito is the first of many and is already proving to be a great mobile advertisement for our company as well as a highly effective and efficient performer.
“Moving to electric transportation will be a major step forward in our strategic goal to reduce the impact of our activities on the local environment as much as possible and make the company as sustainable as it can be.”
Senior electrician Paul Sinclair was handed the keys to the firm’s first eVito. “I’d never driven an electric vehicle before but making the transition was no problem at all,” he observed. “Now I love driving the eVito – it’s much smoother and quieter than a diesel van, and with full torque available from a standstill, the performance feels effortless.”
The long-bodied eVito was a used vehicle, although it was supplied in showroom condition with just 500 miles on the clock.
“The availability of a used model made this green option even more accessible,” added Fethon. “Like any operator, we’re keen to keep our total cost of vehicle operation as low as possible. The two-year ServiceCare package that we opted to buy upfront means running costs will be easily predictable, and our own charging point supported by a solar panel helps to minimise topping-up costs – all of which means the eVito makes financial as well as environmental sense.
“Now we’re looking forward to adding more as soon as possible.”
The Key
With the benefit of hindsight, starting a new business that relies on public footfall just before a global pandemic might not seem like perfect timing, but that’s what Jonny Smith did. Now his Aberdeen-based healthy food and lifestyle venture, The Key, is thriving.
The Key was conceived as a one-stop healthy lifestyle hub, combining a cafe serving nutritionally balanced meals and snacks with a studio offering everything from yoga and Pilates classes to sports massage and physiotherapy treatments.
Covid restrictions forced doors to close soon after opening.
“The restrictions we faced meant a new plan was required, and fast,” said Smith. “It has always been our intention to eventually offer nutritious, macro-calculated meals to take away, as well as to be served in the café – so we decided to make that our first priority. With the help of a van, we were able to develop a delivery service – providing freshly cooked meals to customers, many of whom were working from their homes.
“The idea was a hit, and we were quickly working at full capacity to fulfil all the orders that came in. Even now that we’re open and operating as we’d originally planned, the meal delivery service remains popular, so it’s become a permanent feature of our business model.”
With the initial Covid restrictions weathered, Jonny and his team took stock and looked further ahead, which is when they decided to reappraise their choice of delivery vehicle.
“The first van was a diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz Sprinter,” said Jonny. “It was excellent in many ways and never missed a beat. But given that all our deliveries are within a fairly small radius of the city centre, and because we’re keen to minimise the effect of our operation on the environment wherever possible, we felt an electric vehicle would suit our needs better.
“After our positive experience with both the Sprinter and the customer service from our local retailer, we were sure we wanted another Mercedes-Benz. The Sprinter had also turned out to be bigger than we needed, and we felt a slightly smaller vehicle would make more sense for city driving – so the battery-powered eVito was the obvious choice.”
- Mitsubishi L200 picks a fight with new Street Fighter movie
- Renault Niagara pickup revealed, but it’s only for Latin America
- Mitsubishi L200 Commercial swaps rear seats for van tax treatment
- Volkswagen launches blacked-out Amarok Dark Label pickup
- Pickup market plunges to lowest level since Covid lockdown
- Mitsubishi L200 picks a fight with new Street Fighter movie - 17 September 2026
- Renault Niagara pickup revealed, but it’s only for Latin America - 10 September 2026
- Mitsubishi L200 Commercial swaps rear seats for van tax treatment - 10 September 2026