25 March 2025
On March 14, Protection UNIT received the first hybrid Toyota vehicles as part of its partnership with the Vanderheyden garage. This marks another step in our ongoing effort to gradually replace our entire fleet in order to drastically reduce our carbon footprint.
ESG principles, which are a priority for Protection UNIT, are based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations (UN). Among these is the need for companies to take initiatives to assume greater environmental responsibility and to promote the development and spread of environmentally friendly technologies.
So far, the sixty or so hybrid vehicles in our fleet are primarily used for back-office purposes, while the remaining 170 vehicles, reserved for operational use, are still powered by combustion engines.
A thorough evaluation was conducted to plan the gradual replacement of our diesel fleet with hybrid vehicles only. We chose Toyota, a brand with extensive expertise in this field, offering a wide range of self-charging hybrid models that do not require plugging in. These vehicles use a combination of a battery and one or more electric motors to enhance performance, while also functioning as generators that convert excess energy into electric charge. For instance, energy produced during braking or deceleration is recovered to recharge the battery. The vehicle switches automatically between engines, with the transition being seamless for the driver.
“These vehicles offer three key advantages,” explains David Loix, our Operational & Technical Support Manager. “First, they allow us to drive in electric mode for over 50% of the time, significantly reducing our fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, which was our main goal. Second, they are much better suited to our driving style, as the combustion engine vehicles we previously used often had technical issues—especially with the particulate filter—due to the fact that our patrol officers mostly drive at very low speeds. Lastly, they are self-charging, meaning we don’t need charging stations. In practice, hybrid vehicle drivers often forget to plug in, eventually running solely on gasoline—which is actually worse, since the vehicle is heavier than a conventional one.”