The firm is to take delivery of up to 1,000 Transit Connect and Transit Custom models a year and will receive its first 100 new Fords this month.
Gloucester-based Mears Group expanded its fleet last year and now manages 4,300 vans and 700 cars nationwide.
Asset manager Jo Hammonds said: ‘The new Ford Transit Connect’s fresh styling, greater load space, better economy, emissions and whole-life costs are the factors which make it a very attractive prospect for us.’
Mears’ vans are used by the company’s 16,000-strong workforce to provide response and planned maintenance services to local authorities and registered social landlords, delivering 6,000 repairs a day to a portfolio of nearly one million properties.
The firm is set to benefit from the Transit Connect’s improved practicality and lower fuel costs. The new model provides up to 3.6m3 of load space in long wheelbase models, and can carry up to 1,000kg of cargo. A load-through bulkhead also accommodates long load items up to 3m, while the flexible dual front passenger seat means three occupants can sit comfortably in the front.
Transit Connect is offered with a choice of advanced petrol and diesel engines, including the 1.0-litre three-cylinder EcoBoost petrol engine, which delivers 100hp and 170Nm of torque with a six-speed manual transmission. Combined with other fuel-saving technologies, such as Auto-Start-Stop, it achieves around 24% better fuel economy and 25% lower CO2 emissions.
