Glasgow City Council is take delivery of 320 Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion

Glasgow City Council is set to take delivery of a record 320 examples of the highly efficient Polo BlueMotion.

The largest single order to date for the Polo BlueMotion, placed through the Verve Volkswagen retailer in Glasgow, follows an extensive procurement exercise in which the vehicles were judged on not just their efficiency but on viability for everyday use, comfort and value for money.  The Polo BlueMotion met and exceeded the demands placed on it and it emerged as the favoured option.

Gary Gallagher, Procurement Category Manager at Glasgow City Council commented: ‘As a public body, Glasgow must follow a strict procurement process which complies with all EU Procurement directives.  Following an initial tendering process, a period of   evaluation of key aspects of tender responses began, aspects including analysis of total cost, quality, value added offerings and innovation, during which the evaluation panel, or “commodity team” assessed the merits of all suppliers’ bids side by side. The outcome of the evaluation was conclusive in favour of the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion being the most economically advantageous solution for Glasgow within our passenger car lot.’

The Polo BlueMotion remains one of the most efficient vehicles on the road with the ability to achieve 74.3 mpg on the combined cycle while emitting just 99 g/km of CO2  – placing it in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) band ‘A’ and exempt from road tax.

Once on the road the new fleet of Polo BlueMotions will be used by council staff in the local community – a role for which the vehicle is particularly well-suited.  Due to the fitment of a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) as standard the Polo BlueMotion does not emit any harmful particulates into the atmosphere.  As a result it’s one of the cleanest vehicles currently on sale.

Mr. Gallagher added: ‘Caring for the environment is very high on the Council’s agenda and any measures we can take to help reduce our carbon footprint are extremely desirable.  As we plan to purchase approximately 320 vehicles over the four year duration of the contract, the statistics produced by the Polo BlueMotion in this area were very appealing, both in terms of reduced carbon emissions and increased fuel capacity.  We have calculated that running this vehicle will reduce the council’s carbon output by 37 tonnes over the duration of the contract whilst saving the Council significant money.’

The Polo BlueMotion’s remarkable efficiency is made possible through a series of small but significant changes intended to reduce the strain on the vehicle’s 1.4-litre diesel engine.  These include changes to the car’s aerodynamics – most noticeably with a new, smoother front grille – to allow it to pass through the air more efficiently.

Vincent Kinner, Head of Volkswagen Fleet Services, commented: ‘We’re proud that Glasgow City Council selected the Polo BlueMotion to become the mainstay of its vehicle fleet and the part it will play in driving up efficiency.’