BT Group receives first 750 of 3500 electric vans
The initial batch of 750 vans include hundreds of Toyota Proace Electric and Vauxhall Vivaro Electric vehicles, plus Vauxhall Combo Electrics. The vans will be used for BT’s Openreach fleet, which operates and maintains critical internet broadband infrastructure across the UK. That includes connecting fibre optic cables to homes, installing street cabinets and exchanges, and providing other physical infrastructure for internet service providers (ISPs).
Once the rest of the 3500 vehicles are delivered, BT Group anticipates it will have a fleet of almost 8000 EVs, which would be one of the largest commercial fleets in the UK. (Currently, it has around 4,300 EVs in its fleet).
The new vehicles are all being delivered through BT’s major fleet management deal with Holman, which began in September 2023 and covers over 37000 vehicles in BT’s fleet. The fleet management company has so far overseen funding and sourcing of the new electric vans as well as a handover training programme to familiarise BT engineers with electric van usage. Holman anticipates that the majority of the new vans will run on a seven-year fleet lifecycle, during which it will manage service, maintenance and repairs. Holman states it is also responsible for ‘defleeting’ BT’s existing ICE vans by preparing them for sale.
Holman’s Customer Success Director, Nimesh Chauhan, said: “It’s been our task to ensure that when these vans start work, everything is in place for them to succeed and for drivers to have everything they need so there is no drop-off in operational capability.” He added: “BT Group’s footprint is vast, covering the breadth of the UK, which is why we’re working at grassroots level with vehicle users in every corner of the country to make sure that we continue to innovate, and meet their ever-changing needs.”
0 Comments