14 DAY TRIAL // Back in November, British Gas announced that some of its engineers were busy testing as many as 28 Nissan e-NV200 vans. According to media reports, the engineers got to drive these vehicles around for six months.
After the trial period came to an end, the energy giant had to decide whether or not it would add such electric four-wheelers to its fleet, and, by the looks of it, it's good news for Nissan.
Thus, British Gas thinks that the Nissan electric vans its engineers got to test all performed incredibly well, and it has announced plans to buy as many as 100 such vehicles.
“We have been extremely impressed with the performance of the Nissan e-NV200 during our winter trial,” Colin Marriott, general manager for fleet at British Gas, said in a statement.
“The feedback from our engineers speaks for itself, with the majority saying they would be happy to keep the van permanently,” Colin Marriott added, as cited by Business Green.
Information shared with the public says that an initial order for 50 NV200 100% electric vans is to be placed this April 29, and that the energy giant is expected to place an order for other 50 later this year, in December.
For the time being, it is unclear how much money British Gas is to invest in acquiring the 100 Nissan electric vans. However, the energy and home services provider insists that the vehicles will be worth every penny.
This is because the 100% electric vans will not only protect the environment but will also help British Gas reduce the annual costs associated with keeping its fleet up and running to a considerable extent. This is because the addition of the electric vans will surely reduce fuel consumption.
“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,” Colin Marriott explained.
Word has it that, should things go according to plan, British Gas will manage to have electric cars account for as much as 10% of its commercial vehicle fleet by 2017. Needless to say, the energy giant's recent deal with Nissan is nothing if not a good step towards achieving this goal.
As reported back in November, the British Gas engineers got to trial the Nissan electric vans ahead of the official launch. Talking to the press, Jim Wright with the automotive manufacturer said, “The success of this closely-watched trial with one of Britain's biggest organisations puts Nissan in a great position in time for the official launch of the e-NV200 this June.”