The six-month winter trial of Nissan’s all-electric e-NV200 van with British Gas has come to a successful conclusion with the energy giant placing an immediate order for 50 vans, with a further 50 to be delivered by the end of the calendar year.
The nationwide pilot of 28 vans, and the resulting order, which was announced today at the start of the CV Show at the NEC in Birmingham, is part of British Gas’ wider commitment to ensuring 10% of its fleet of 13,000 home service vans are all-electric by 2017.
Launched last November to determine viability of electric vehicle technology as part of British Gas fleet operations, the six-month pilot saw Nissan and British Gas working with Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions to manage the fleet operations and GatesheadCollege to train drivers in how to drive the 100% electric Nissan e-NV200. Hitachi Capital will be funding the purchase of the Nissan e-NV200s by British Gas as well as managing the fleet of all-electric vehicles.
The UK’s largest ever electric commercial vehicle evaluation to date, which saw the 28 e-NV200s cover in excess of 60,000 miles between them, was launched to assess how the vans performed in winter conditions during typical British Gas home services daily usage patterns and was such a success that some drivers were reluctant to hand back their vans.
Available to purchase from June, the Nissan e-NV200 is a zero emission compact van that guarantees significant savings in running costs while also helping the environment by bringing CO2 emissions down to zero at the point of use.
