The UK's biggest electric van fleets, and the vans they use
Quick answer
- Royal Mail runs the biggest electric van fleet reported in the UK: its 9,000th electric van went into service in August 2026. [1]
- Openreach and DPD each run thousands of electric vans, Mitie runs over 6,000 EVs including cars, and Tesco passed 2,000 electric home delivery vans in September 2026.
- Most-used brands: big fleets mix makes, but Peugeot, Vauxhall, Ford, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Maxus come up most often.
Which UK companies have the biggest electric van fleets?
| Company | Electric fleet, as reported | Van brands named |
|---|---|---|
| Royal Mail | 9,000th electric van in service, August 2026 [1] | Peugeot e-Partner and e-Expert (2,100 ordered in 2024) [2] |
| Openreach (BT Group) | Over 6,000 EVs by December 2025; a 3,500-van order placed in January 2025 is due to take BT Group to nearly 8,000 [3] [4] | Ford E-Transit Custom, Vauxhall Vivaro Electric and Combo Electric, Toyota Proace Electric, Renault [3] [4] [5] |
| Mitie | 6,406 EVs (cars and vans), 76% of its original fleet, March 2026 [6] | Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo (650 ordered in 2024), Vauxhall, Nissan [7] [8] |
| DPD UK | About 4,000 EVs, September 2026 [9] | Mercedes-Benz eSprinter (341 ordered in 2026), Ford E-Transit (1,000 ordered in 2022), Maxus [9] [10] |
| Tesco | 2,000 electric home delivery vans, over 30% of that fleet, September 2026 [11] | Maxus eDeliver 9 (750 ordered in 2025) [11] |
| Amazon UK | More than 1,500 electric delivery vans with its delivery partners, end of 2025 [12] | Mercedes-Benz eSprinter and eVito (European orders including the UK) [13] |
| British Gas (Centrica) | Ordered 3,000 electric vans in 2020–21, its latest public order [14] | Vauxhall Vivaro-e [14] |
Totals come from different dates and some include cars, so they're a guide to scale rather than an exact ranking.
Which companies use which electric van brands?
- Ford: Openreach (E-Transit Custom) and DPD (E-Transit). [3] [10]
- Maxus: Tesco (eDeliver 9) and DPD. [11] [9]
- Mercedes-Benz: DPD and Amazon (eSprinter), plus Amazon's eVito. [9] [13]
- Peugeot: Royal Mail (e-Partner and e-Expert, many built at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire). [2]
- Toyota and Renault: Openreach. [4] [5]
- Vauxhall: Openreach (Vivaro Electric and Combo Electric), British Gas (Vivaro-e) and Mitie. [5] [14] [8]
- Volkswagen: Mitie (ID. Buzz Cargo). [7]
For range, payload and prices of these models, see electric vans compared.
What do the biggest electric van fleets have in common?
- They buy from several makers. Openreach's 2025 order alone was split across Ford, Stellantis (Vauxhall), Toyota and Renault, matching different vans to different jobs. [4]
- They switch in stages. Royal Mail ordered its first 100 electric vans in 2017 and reached 9,000 in 2026; about a third of its delivery routes are now fully electric. [15] [1]
- They charge at their own sites. Depot charging is what makes the running costs work at scale. What a depot charger costs.
- They pick vans that match their diesel payloads. DPD says its eSprinters carry the same payload as the 3.5-tonne diesel vans they replace. [9]
Sources
- Royal Mail's 9,000th electric van, electrive: electrive.com; Electric Drives: electricdrives.tv
- Royal Mail boosts electric fleet with Peugeot, Stellantis: media.stellantis.com
- Over 6,000 EVs in the Openreach fleet, electrive: electrive.com
- BT Group's 3,500-van order, ISPreview: ispreview.co.uk
- First of BT's 3,500 electric vans delivered, Fleet News: fleetnews.co.uk
- Mitie completes first phase of Plan Zero, Net Zero Compare: netzerocompare.com
- Mitie orders 650 VW ID. Buzz Cargos, EV Powered: evpowered.co.uk
- Mitie fleet hits 6,000th EV, electrive: electrive.com
- DPD UK orders 341 Mercedes-Benz eSprinters, electrive: electrive.com
- DPD UK orders 1,000 Ford E-Transits, Electric Drives: electricdrives.tv
- Tesco deploys 2,000th electric delivery van, electrive: electrive.com; Grocery Gazette: grocerygazette.co.uk
- Making Amazon deliveries more sustainable, Amazon UK: aboutamazon.co.uk
- Amazon orders Mercedes-Benz electric vans, Fleet News: fleetnews.co.uk; Van Reviewer: vanreviewer.co.uk
- British Gas makes largest UK commercial EV order with Vauxhall, Centrica: centrica.com
- Royal Mail orders 100 Peugeot electric vans, Air Quality News: airqualitynews.com