The vehicle was trialled from its Leicester and Newbury depots, to help determine which of its drivers' daily travel patterns suit its working range, including commuting to and from work. Run at maximum gross vehicle weight, the e-NV200 shadowed British Gas's engineers and covered over 1,200 miles.

Drivers were also given an opportunity to get used to the new technology and charging procedure attached to using an electric vehicle.

Colin Marriott, general manager of the British Gas fleet, said: 'With electric cars and vans coming of age, we feel the time is now right for us to introduce electric vans into our fleet and we are currently evaluating the benefits they can bring to UK fleets by implementing them into our own. 

'With fuel prices continuing to rise, one of the biggest benefits of e-NV200 is the breakthrough in long term running cost savings,' he added.

Nissan is running a global proving test with large commercial fleets to find out how the e-NV200 performs under real operating conditions. It has already undergone trials with the Japan Post Service and supermarket chain AEON in Japan and FedEx in the UK. British Gas is the latest company to contribute to the pre-launch activities.

Francis Bleasdale, Nissan Motor GB’s LCV sales and marketing director, said: 'Working with large fleets such as British Gas is invaluable to ensure we receive a range of driver and operator feedback on the new van before its launch. The global trial of the e-NV200 test car is part of our process of making continuous enhancements to the vehicle before unveiling the production vehicle.'

Nissan has a close working relationship with British Gas as it has been its preferred supplier of home and office electric charging points for LEAF EV customers since 2011.