BT makes UK’s biggest commercial EV order with 3,500 vehicles
UK telecommunications provider, BT Group, has made the UK’s largest ever commercial electric vehicle purchase, ordering 3,500 all-electric vehicles.
By the time the order is completed in 2026, BT will have a total of 8,000 EVs in its fleet.
BT subsidiary, Openreach, is the UK’s largest wholesale broadband company, and manages the second largest commercial vehicle fleet in the UK, with more than 27,000 vehicles used by engineers across the country. Openreach already has around 4,300 electric vehicles, supporting its target to become a net zero business by the end of March 2031. The order of the new EVs is part of a larger delivery of 6,000 new vehicles, with more than half of the vans being all-electric. It comes shortly after the AA announced it was expanding its fleet of electric roadside assistance vans.
BT Group aims to become net zero for its own emissions by the end of March 2031, targeting net zero for supply chain and customer emissions within the following 10 years.
“By integrating yet more electric vehicles into our operations, we are taking another significant step towards reducing our carbon footprint and supporting the UK’s transition to a greener future.” said Simon Lowth, the BT Group chief financial officer.
“As we extend our full fibre build from 16 million homes and businesses today to 25 million by the end of 2026, having the most efficient, sustainable electric vehicles will give our engineers the edge as they connect customers at pace to our next generation networks. Our modern fleet will help us to be more efficient and deliver a better service for our customers.”
Lilian Greenwood, Future of Roads Minister, added: “Businesses have a crucial role to play in driving the transition to electric cars and vans. That’s why it’s fantastic to see that BT Group have made the most of our plug-in van grant to order 3,500 brand new EVs – which means they will have the largest electric commercial fleet in the UK.
“We want to help more businesses decarbonise their operations, and we’ve extended our plug-in van grant with £120m funding to help roll out more zero emission vans on our roads – part of our £2.3bn to support industry and consumers switch to EVs and make the transition a success”.
The EV order will be delivered by Ford, Stellantis, Toyota, and Renault over the next two years.
