Centrica: Prime Minister and Chancellor take delivery of 500th British Gas EV van

The 500th electric British Gas van will hit the roads this week, after being unveiled by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on Monday.

British Gas operates the largest commercial electric vehicle fleet in the UK, having ordered 3,000 Vauxhall Vivaro-e vehicles over the last two years, as part of parent company Centrica’s vow to make all of its vehicles electric by 2025. All 3,000 will be on the road by the end of 2022.

To drive EV uptake among British Gas colleagues and customers, and to demonstrate what the latest EVs are capable of, this week will also see two vans undertake the 874-mile journey from John O’Groats to Land’s End.

The journey follows an announcement by British Gas to hire 3,500 ‘green skills’ apprentices over the next decade. Newly recruited apprentices and existing British Gas engineers will promote the opportunities available in key regions along the route.

Once qualified as Smart Energy Experts, the new cohort of apprentices will be upskilled to install and maintain carbon-efficient technologies, including much-needed EV vehicle charging points, in communities across the UK.