Contract from TNT Express

Tanfield Group PLC
26 April 2007

26 April 2007

                             The Tanfield Group Plc
                          ('Tanfield' or 'the Group')


           SMITH ELECTRIC VEHICLES SECURES CONTRACT FROM TNT EXPRESS


Tanfield, the leading manufacturer of zero emission electric vehicles and aerial
work platforms, today announces that Smith Electric Vehicles has secured a
further contract to supply its electric vehicles to TNT Express for immediate
delivery. The electric vehicles will be deployed across the UK and trialled for
the first time in Europe.


TNT Express UK has initially ordered fifty battery-powered Newton 7.5t trucks
from Smith Electric Vehicles, a trading division of Tanfield. This contract
follows a six-month long trial in and around London, completed two months ahead
of schedule, by TNT Express UK of the Newton, which was deployed in TNT's
delivery and collection operations.


Additionally, TNT Express has ordered a further five electric vehicles from
Smith Electric Vehicles for its first trial in mainland Europe. The vehicles
will be deployed in a variety of urban operations in Rotterdam, Holland and will
be a mixture of the Newton 7.5t truck and the Edison 3.5t van. Both electric
vehicles use body shells that are universally recognised by the fleet drivers
and perform all the usual tasks of a conventional diesel vehicle. The Edison
electric van utilises a Ford Transit body shell and was launched this week ahead
of the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham on 24 April.


TNT is a European market leader in global express, logistics and international
mail services and has a fleet of 45,000 vehicles across Europe of which 3,500 is
the UK vehicle fleet. TNT Express UK has previously stated that it is committed
to purchasing up to 200 Newton 7.5t trucks over the next two years, subject to
the results of the trial, which has now been completed. TNT is currently looking
for further opportunities to deploy further electric vehicles throughout its
operations in the UK and mainland Europe.


The on-going trial with CEVA Logistics (formerly TNT Logistics) continues to
progress well.


Darren Kell, Chief Executive of The Tanfield Group Plc, said:


'The thorough trial conducted by TNT has demonstrated that our electric vehicles
perform superbly in urban areas, while also providing a compelling reduction in
operating costs and zero emissions.


Our existing production facilities have the capacity for these vehicles and
additional volume orders. We believe that this order further validates our
strategy of seeding electric vehicles with major fleet operators. We are
confident of receiving further volume orders both from TNT and other operators
as current electric vehicle trials are concluded.'


For further information:


The Tanfield Group Plc                                Tel: [phone]

Darren Kell, Chief Executive                          [e-mail]

Charles Brooks, Finance Director

Fishburn Hedges                                       Tel: [phone]

Morgan Bone                                           Mob: [phone]

James Benjamin                                        Mob: [phone]

                                                      [e-mail]

St. Helen's Capital plc                               Tel: [phone]

Ruari McGirr

Cenkos Securities plc                                 Tel: [phone]

Stephen Keys


website: www.tanfieldgroup.co.uk


Notes to editors

The Tanfield Group Plc is the world's leading developer and manufacturer of
road-going commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms. Tanfield is
headquartered in Newcastle with operations in the USA and Japan. It has two main
divisions:


Smith Electric Vehicles, was founded in 1920 and acquired by Tanfield in October
2004. Since its acquisition, Smith is developing into a world leader in new
technology electric vans and trucks with greatly enhanced performance, speed and
range capabilities. This makes them attractive for all fleet operators in large
towns, cities and closed industrial environment. For the first time, these fleet
operators have an economically viable, zero emission alternatives to using
diesel vans and trucks. Smith has an unrivalled UK-wide service and support
network, which already maintains over 5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators.
This core element of the business is beginning to fulfil its potential in terms
of addressing the requirements of large urban fleet operators, who want to
reduce their operational costs and more importantly, greatly reduce their carbon
footprint. Smith's airport offering is complemented by two specialist airport
vehicle sub-divisions; Jumbotugs and Norquip.

www.smithelectricvehicles.com


UpRight Powered Access, is firmly established as the UK's biggest manufacturer
of self-propelled aerial work platforms (such as 'cherry-pickers', 'scissor
lifts', 'trailer mounts', etc) and UpRight is globally one of the industry's
strongest aerial lift brands in what is a $7bn market. UpRight has assembly
facilities in the UK and USA, plus a wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan. Products
are sold through a strong global network of over 150 independent, full-service
distributors across Europe, North America, Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions.
Tanfield has been successful in extending the UpRight product range and
achieving significant increases in average weekly order intake, boosted in part
by working at height regulations.

www.upright.com

www.aerialaccess.co.uk

                                    - ENDS -


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