Leading rental, hire and leasing specialist Dawsonrentals has announced a string of orders for new Mercedes-Benz Sprinters.

The group is adding another 70 Sprinters, all 5.0-tonne gvw models, to its rental fleet of more than 2,000 vehicles.

In addition, it has ordered a further 10 Sprinter Traveliner 513 CDI minbuses with 17 seats and 10 more 516 CDI panel vans which will be transformed into luxury coaches by Irish converter EVM.

The Sprinter 513 CDI chassis cabs will be fitted with wheelchair-accessible bodies by Treka Bus, of Brighouse, West Yorkshire.

Dawsonrentals Managing Director Paul Sainthouse said: 'We've been running Mercedes-Benz Sprinters for some time now, but they've played an increasingly important role over recent years as our business focus has shifted and we've expanded the fleet to include more van-based vehicles and minbuses.

'The Sprinter is reliable, comfortable and highly cost-effective to operate, as well as offering the prestige of the three-pointed star. All of which explains why it's so popular with our customers and why we're very happy to be confirming this latest round of orders.'

Mercedes-Benz Vans Head of Strategic Accounts Andrew Lawson said: 'Dawsonrentals is one of the biggest names in the vehicle rental and leasing industry. We're delighted in this, the year in which we're celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Sprinter's launch, to have won this latest round of prestigious orders from a highly valued customer.'