Tyre service and maintenance provider, ATS Euromaster, has expanded its mobile van fleet to meet surging demand for mobile servicing.

In 2021 so far, 30 new vans have been added to the fleet, with a further increase expected before the end of the year, bringing the total fleet of mobile vans to 155.

The new lower emission vans are fitted with an electric compressor - where compressor batteries are charged by the vehicle while it is being driven.

All mobile fitting vans are equipped with the specialist jacks required to change wheels on the Tesla Model 3 electric car, said ATS Euromaster.

The expansion follows ATS Euromaster seeing a surge in demand for its mobile fleet, running at 10% above average each month from October 2020 through to July 2021.

The company said it is meeting the increased requirement through greater operator efficiency due to improved on-job training, but says it is now actively recruiting to upstaff its mobile service.

Mark Holland, operations director at ATS Euromaster, said: “There’s no question that the increase we have seen for mobile delivery provision, and the constant vehicle uptime required to deliver items, has been behind the increase in demand for our mobile service.

“Thanks to the growing efficiency of our mobile technicians, we have been able to meet this increased demand to date, but now we feel it is time to invest in increasing our fleet size and new staff.

“We don’t expect mobile deliveries, particularly from the established supermarkets, to decrease as the scale of the pandemic subsides. Quite the contrary, we expect it to continue at the current levels, which in turn will put further demand for our services to ensure secure fleet uptime.

“Most of the requests we are seeing are for emergency tyre repair. But we are attempting to work with the bigger van fleets to prioritise maintenance work during vehicle downtime at night to provide a balance and retain service levels for all customers throughout the day.”

ATS Euromaster said it is expanding its Mastercare service – where the company undertakes pre-planned tyre inspection and remedial work at a time that is convenient for fleets to help limit downtime.

The company is also trialling new working hours for its employees, including dedicated night-time technicians.

All new technicians coming onto the ATS Euromaster mobile service fleet receive car and van training, along with new electric vehicle (EV) high voltage use modules, and a specialist roadside course.