Momentum is continuing to build in the electric van market, led by one of the most significant buyers of new vans — the van hire sector.

In recent weeks, two of the UK’s largest van rental firms, Europcar and Northgate, have both added extra EV capacity to their hire fleets.

Northgate has added 25 Nissan e-NV200 electric vans to its fleet, which will be available for hire from July. We expect demand for these vans to be strongest in London, where the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) now means that all pre-Euro 6 diesels must pay a £12.50 daily charge.

Europcar has added new EV capacity to the opening fleet at its new Purfleet van rental supersite, which is located just inside the M25, close to the A13.

As I’ve said many times before in these pages, EV technology is probably better suited to urban-use vans than it is to family cars at the moment. I can only see this momentum increasing as EVs become better understood, more widely used and gain longer ranges.