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 Gateshead College to train drivers in how to drive the 100% electric Nissan e-NV200.

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 said to be such a success that some drivers were reluctant to hand back their vans.

Now, the energy giant has announced on the first day of the CV Show that it is placing an initial order for 50 of the vans, with a further 50 to be delivered by the end of the calendar year. The vans will be funded and managed by Hitachi Capital.

Colin Marriott, general manager, fleet at British Gas said: ‘We have been extremely impressed with the performance of the Nissan e-NV200 during our winter trial. 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 amongst large vehicle fleets in the UK. With technology and infrastructure improving all the time, we look forward to expanding this number in the coming years.’

Jon Lawes, divisional managing director of Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions which managed the trial, added: ‘We have been closely monitoring and analysing the trial throughout the six months it has been running and have been delighted with the way the e-NV200 has performed. We fully expect to see a continued increase in the adoption of electric vehicles for commercial fleet operations, and the success of the British Gas trial provides compelling evidence to support business use of electric vehicles.’