Addison Lee has joined forces with Octopus Energy to offer cheaper EV charging to its drivers.

The Octopus Electroverse platform will enable simple charging for more than 2,000 Addison Lee private hire vehicles in London.

The premium private hire, courier and black taxi provider – which is rolling out fully electric cars and plug-in hybrids on its fleet – is providing access to Octopus Energy’s EV roaming service, Octopus Electroverse.

The Electroverse platform will enable simple charging for more than 2,000 private hire vehicles in London.

The deal will unlock access to multiple charge point brands – covering most charging operators in the capital – at a single tap of the Octopus Electroverse or app. This means Addison Lee drivers no longer need to download multiple apps and subscriptions.

This partnership also gives Addison Lee drivers up to 24% off their charging costs at thousands of Source London and MFG EV Power charge points across London.

Addison Lee has spent more than £80m over the last three years to upgrade its fleet with fully electric and zero emissions capable vehicles, ranging from from executive, premium cars, to black taxis. It recently added 600 Volkswagen Multivan PHEV people carriers, which joined the existing 1,000-strong fleet of all-electric Volkswagen ID.4 SUVs and 400 Audi A6 plug-in hybrids.

Liam Griffin, CEO at Addison Lee, commented: “As the first private hire operator in London to introduce EVs at scale, we have been a pioneer of electrification. This also means that we have seen first-hand the difficulties that private hire drivers face when it comes to finding reliable and available charging infrastructure. Over the last three years, we have committed to supporting our drivers with this ongoing challenge, and we are pleased to add Octopus Energy to our range of strategic charging partnerships.”

Octopus Electroverse also continues to grow – it’s nearly tripled customer numbers over the past year and is now the UK’s biggest EV roaming service, according to the business.

Matt Davies, director of Octopus Electroverse, said: “Addison Lee has taken brilliant steps towards electrifying its fleet. We’re excited to now give their thousands of electric cab drivers access to our super-simple EV charging experience, as well as discounts on key charging networks.”

Octopus Energy is also a pioneer in smart tariffs for EVs. Its Intelligent Octopus Go tariff uses the company’s tech platform Kraken to charge electric cars when the grid is greenest and cheapest. Last month, Octopus launched the UK’s first mass-market vehicle-to-grid tariff, Octopus Power Pack, enabling free home charging.