Northgate Vehicle Hire is expanding its electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, with more than half of its branches expected to be EV-ready within the next 12 months.

This is in addition to every branch already having trained EV technicians on site.

Northgate’s busiest branches have been upgraded with EV charging facilities over the past year to ensure they can serve the ever-growing Northgate fleet.

By the end of 2023, a large number of Northgate’s branches will be fully capable of serving an EV fleet ahead of their mass adoption in UK.

Neil McCrossan, Northgate Vehicle Hire’s sales and marketing director, said: “Alongside the Government’s deadline to end the sale of internal combustion vehicles by 2030, we have been committed to supporting our customers during, and after their switch to EVs.

“Northgate understands the importance of a clean transition to an electric fleet and will assist its customers in any way it can.”

Enhancing its wider Drive to Zero initiative, Northgate has focused its energy on installing a full charging infrastructure and charging provisions across its own branches, via its charging partner, ChargedEV - part of the Redde Northgate plc group.

McCrossan added: “Some operators are still apprehensive about the journey to EVs but the sooner they start discussing and planning this the better – it may be a two-to-three-year period before they can fully electrify their fleets, but the earlier the process begins, the easier it will be.”

Northgate is running trials with several operators to get drivers behind the wheel of these vehicles. Fleets such as QEST, and the Home Utility Group have already trialled eLCVs as an initial step towards electrification.

Before any fleet analysis or suitability studies are conducted, these e-LCV loan vehicles allow a business to assess for themselves the benefits of an electrified fleet.