LEADING UK automation and controls business IAC Ltd has taken on a fleet of seven new Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles at its Newport headquarters.

Industrial Automation & Control Ltd is the UK’s leading independent systems integrator of PLC systems, variable speed drives and Scada. The business has selected the new vehicles in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint and save money.

Sales director Paul Howell said: “It’s important for us to be able to show our customers that we are buying into green technology, and because the Outlander PHEV is so environmentally friendly there are personal tax savings for us as well, so it’s the ideal vehicle really.”

The Outlander PHEVs will be used by Paul, four other directors, the international sales manager and deputy sales manager.

Between them, they do more than 100,000 miles a year. The company has already installed six charging points at its premises in Queensway Meadows.

As well as its official fuel consumption figure of 156 miles per gallon, the Outlander PHEV’s low emissions of just 42g of CO2 per kilometre mean there’s no vehicle tax to pay. It’s also exempt from the London congestion charge and it qualifies for the Government’s plug-in car grant, too. For company car drivers, such as the team at IAC, the Benefit In Kind tax is just 7 per cent, which is a virtual pay rise of thousands of pounds per year.

Tony Sciascia, managing director at Celtic Mitsubishi in Swansea, which supplied the vehicles, said: “The Outlander PHEV has outstanding eco credentials and excellent tax benefits, so it’s perfect for the team at IAC. It boasts impressive fuel economy and ultralow emissions, while its electric and petrol power combined give it a range of well over 500 miles, with up to 32 miles in electric mode alone, so it will save them money.”

The Outlander PHEV has been scooping award after award since its launch. In 2014, it won Diesel Car’s Best Alternative Fuel Vehicle award as well as Business Car’s Best Green Development gong in its Techie Awards, while last year, Scotland’s national newspaper The Scotsman awarded it the title of Plug-in Vehicle of the Year and Next Green Car made it SUV of the Year in its annual awards.

In addition, the Outlander PHEV was awarded the title of Best Ultra Low Emission Vehicle at the prestigious Fleet World Honours both last year and this year.

IAC Ltd, which employs 75 people and has an annual turnover of £8.5m, undertakes complex integration projects in the UK and overseas for a huge range of industries, including paper, metals, pharmaceuticals, materials-handling, food, chemicals, printing, textiles, water and nuclear power.