Openreach partners with Allstar to combine home, public, and commercial EV charging for its 7,000 electric van fleet. Here is what UK trades can learn.
Openreach has partnered with fleet payment provider Allstar, a Corpay company, to establish a multi-channel charging infrastructure for its growing electric vehicle fleet. The telecommunications infrastructure provider currently operates over 7,000 electric vehicles out of a total fleet exceeding 22,000 commercial vans across the UK.
The agreement focuses on building a flexible charging network that integrates home charging, public charge points, and commercial depot infrastructure tailored around the daily routes of field engineers. By combining these three channels, Openreach aims to resolve range anxiety and charging downtime for field staff operating across urban and regional locations.
What does this mean for a UK tradesperson or DIYer actually buying this kit — does it change what they should pay, buy, or watch out for?
For self-employed tradespeople and small trade business owners, Openreach's approach highlights a practical shift in commercial vehicle strategy. While smaller firms cannot replicate a 7,000-vehicle management deal, the focus on blending home and public charging cards like Allstar is becoming essential for sole traders switching to electric vans. If you are upgrading your work vehicle, factor fleet fuel-card compatibility into your total cost of ownership calculations. Relying purely on public rapid chargers without network payment deals can significantly increase cost per mile compared to overnight home charging setup, which remains the cheapest way to run an electric work vehicle.
As main contractors and utility providers transition towards zero-emission fleets, sub-contractors may face increasing pressure to demonstrate low-carbon credentials to secure work. Small business owners considering an electric van switch should look at multi-network charging solutions early to avoid administrative overheads when tracking fuel expenses across multiple public networks.
Reported by Electrical Times — original article
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