February 17, 2026 - 157 views
A £23.1 million investment in new ambulances and response vehicles will strengthen emergency services across the whole of Wales — including communities in North Wales.
The funding from the Welsh Government will enable the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust to replace 160 vehicles nationwide. The fleet upgrade includes 50 new emergency ambulances, 40 single responder vehicles, 67 Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service vehicles and three specialist Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) units.
The vehicles will be deployed across Wales, supporting both urban centres and rural regions. In North Wales — where crews cover large distances from coastal towns to remote mountain communities — modern, reliable vehicles are particularly important given the geography and travel times involved.
All replacement vehicles meet the latest emissions standards, supporting efforts to reduce carbon emissions. The ambulance service has also been expanding its electric vehicle charging network and introducing hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, alongside installing solar panels at ambulance stations.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Jeremy Miles, said the investment ensures the service has a modern and reliable fleet to respond when people dial 999.
Chris Turley, Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources at the Trust, said updated vehicles are more dependable, better equipped for patient care and provide a safer working environment for staff.
The investment forms part of a wider modernisation programme. The service has been trialling defibrillator drones in rural areas, including parts of North Wales, using video consultations to assess patients remotely and exploring artificial intelligence to support 999 call handling.
Covering more than 8,000 square miles, the Welsh Ambulance Service operates nationally, and this latest funding is aimed at improving resilience and reliability for patients in every part of the country.
