British Gas pilot sparks order for Nissan electric vans29 April 2014

British Gas has placed an order for 100 Nissan e-NV200 vans – 50 immediately and 50 by the end of the year – following a successful six-month trial, said to be the UK's largest electric commercial vehicle pilot.

The order was announced today (29 April) at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham and is part of the gas company's commitment to have 10% of its 13,000-strong home service van fleet switched to electric by 2017.

The 28-vehicle trial began in November and was managed by Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions. Drivers were trained by Gateshead College.

The test vehicles covered more than 60,000 miles in total and enabled British Gas to assess vehicle performance during winter conditions.

"We have been extremely impressed with the performance of the Nissan e-NV200 during our winter trial," says Colin Marriott, general manager, fleet at British Gas. "The feedback from our engineers speaks for itself, with the majority saying they would be happy to keep the van permanently.

"Taking on 100 of these vehicles on a permanent basis demonstrates our continued commitment to leading the adoption of this technology among large vehicle fleets in the UK," adds Marriott.

"With technology and infrastructure improving all the time, we look forward to expanding this number in the coming years."

The vehicles are being funded through Hitachi Capital.

Author
Laura Cork

Related Companies
Nissan Motor (GB) Ltd

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