A BOLTON car dealership is leading the way when it comes to supplying businesses with electric vehicles ­— and has notched up a drinks company as its latest client.

Halewood Artisanal Spirits has taken delivery of 25 Kia e-Niro vehicles from Bolton Kia to help transition its fleet to electric power.

The drinks company chose the e-Niro 2 Long Range, which was introduced in March this year and offers up to 282 miles range from a single charge.

The cars have an on the road price of just under £35,000 but qualify for a Government plug-in car grant, reducing the price by £2,500.

Halewood Artisanal Spirits is one of the UK’s leading independent distillers, producing an award-winning range of spirits.

The company plans for 90 per cent of its fleet to have transitioned to electric power this month.

An order for a further six e-Niro and three of Kia’s latest electric car, the EV6, has been placed bringing the total number of e-Niro to 31.

The EV6 vehicles are capable of 10-80 per cent charge in just 18 minutes and will be used by the firm’s senior management.

To support its switch to electric cars, Halewood has committed to installing workplace chargers at each of its UK facilities.

Iain Wilson, fleet manager at Halewood Artisanal Spirits, said: “Our previous fleet was made up of diesel and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and we’d monitored the EV market for quite some time before taking the plunge.

"The Kia e-Niro addressed all our concerns about EVs convincingly, thanks to its excellent practicality, range and charging speeds."

John Hargreaves, general manager for fleet and remarketing at Kia added: “This is an excellent example of how seamlessly electric cars can fit into a fleet operation that knows its staff, their journey types and takes concerns out of the equation with charge points at all of its facilities.”

Fleet drivers are able to sign up to Kia Charge, which offers access to more than 17,500 charge points across the UK.

Kia Business caters to small and large businesses as well as company car drivers.

Visit kia.com/uk/business to find out more about Kia’s latest range and business offers.

Bolton Kia is Europe’s number one Kia dealer and is also a business specialist dealership.

It is based at the Middlebrook Retail Park, close to Junction 6 of the M61.

Email fleet@boltonkia.co.uk or call 01204 664 800.