The company, which operates a in-house car share fleet made up of BMW and MINIs, said a lack of practical experience with electric vehicles was one of the biggest barrier to fleet uptake, and the trial would help it to fill that knowledge gap.

Results will allow Alphabet to discover the most beneficial areas for an electric vehicle on a fleet, as well as getting a selection of its employees behind the wheel, in turn allowing it to provide useful data to its customers. 

Alphabet's electric vehicle support package, named AlphaElectric, launches in the UK this September and the rest of Europe next year, providing consultancy, charging solutions and driver training for fleets considering a move to electromobility.

Kit Wisdom, mobility solutions manager at Alphabet, said: ‘With an increasing emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility, EVs can help businesses stand out from the crowd by demonstrating their environmental credentials and helping to reduce their fuel costs.

‘It’s not enough to just spend a few hours or a day in an EV, you have to live with it. Adopting an EV onto the AlphaCity CarSharing scheme has enabled us to provide access to this innovative vehicle to multiple users, and ensure AlphaCity is adapted to highlight how EVs can be a successful part of customer fleets.’

The BMW ActiveE is a prototype based on the 1 Series Coupe, and features a 168bhp electric motor with single-pedal operation, similar to the forthcoming i3 electric vehicle.