Leading book wholesaler S Webb & Son has taken a delivery of 22 new Auris hybrid hatchbacks as the company looks to minimise its fuel use and carbon footprint.
Based at Menai Bridge in North Wales, Webb’s distributes and merchandises more than 12,000 product lines, covering books, toys, stationery, cards and gifts. Recently expanding its operations to include Ireland, the company has operated an all-Toyota fleet for almost 10 years, and now runs up to 40 cars, the majority of them Avensis TR and T2 diesels.
The Auris five-door hybrids are replacing Auris diesel models introduced three years earlier.
“Our main criteria when reviewing the fleet are the price of the contract hire, the economics of running the cars, performance that’s suitable for drivers covering long distances and, most importantly, reliability,” says Director and Company Secretary Mike Webb.
“Generally we have no problems at all with the Toyotas. When we told the drivers that they would be getting Auris hybrids, some expressed concern about having to drive automatics, but after the first few days we had received no negative comments. In fact, we were getting messages saying ‘thanks for giving us such a lovely car!’”
The Toyota Auris with Hybrid Synergy Drive offers CO2 emissions from 89g/m, zero road tax and fuel economy of more than 74mpg. The second hybrid model from the Japanese car maker is capable of over 700 miles to a single tank of petrol.
