British Gas has brought forward plans to electrify its commercial fleet to 2025; five years earlier than planned and reinforced by another major order with Vauxhall.

The new order from British Gas for 2,000 all-electric Vivaro-e vans is the largest EV order for a commercial fleet in the UK and adds to the 1,000 purchased by British Gas last summer

Parent firm Centrica has accelerated the pledge to electrify its 12,000-strong operational fleet as part of its commitment to become a net zero organisation. It’s also pledged to make its 1,500 company cars electric-only by 2025 too.

The latest commitment comes less than two years after Centrica pledged to go electric by 2030 under the EV100 initiative and is backed by a new order by British Gas for 2,000 fully electric Vauxhall Vivaro-e vans.

The latest order – the largest electric vehicle order for a commercial fleet in the UK – adds to the 1,000 Vivaro-e vans purchased by British Gas in July 2020. All 3,000 electric vans will be on the road by 2022 and are being prioritised for high-pollution areas. although engineers can volunteer to have the new vans during the rollout.

The use of the electric vans will be backed by the installation of chargers at engineers’ homes while British Gas is also continuing its work to help drivers and businesses go electric through charger installs and EV tariffs.

Chris O’Shea, chief executive of Centrica, said: “Everyone needs to act now to lower carbon emissions and help the UK reach net zero. We are leading from the front by not only lowering emissions for our customers and our communities, but by lowering our own emissions, and by increasing the speed at which we do this. Fully electrifying our fleet will make a big difference.

“At the same time, we are helping our customers make the switch to electric and working with motor manufacturers such as Vauxhall on services and solutions for their EV customers such as charge points, infrastructure and innovative EV tariffs with cheaper charging at night and free EV miles.”

Paul Willcox, managing director of Vauxhall Motors, said: “As the oldest British vehicle brand since 1903, I want to thank British Gas, a fellow British business, for their loyalty and trust in Vauxhall.

“As with all businesses up and down the country, tradespeople rely on their van as an essential tool of their work and our 300-strong retailer network is crucial in continuing to provide support to carry British business. The strength of the quantity of orders for our all-electric van demonstrates that the Vauxhall Vivaro-e can contribute towards the transition towards low emissions vehicles whilst improving air quality.”