Hitachi Capital Commercial Vehicle Solutions has extended their long-term partnership with Centrica for a further five years. The firms have been working together since 2006 and the new long-term contract is a testament to the great working relationship the pair has built.

The deal, which went live on the 1st January this year, sees Hitachi Capital tie together previously separate contracts. As well as managing 13,000 vans in the Centrica fleet, Hitachi Capital will continue to supply and manage 2,000 of Centrica’s company cars, with their Daily Rental team handling their vehicle rental requirements.

Centrica is supported by dedicated Hitachi Capital staff assigned to the managing of both their commercial vehicle fleet and company cars.

Last year Hitachi Capital completely overhauled and upgraded Centrica’s Driver Risk Management System in order to identify and target support and intervention to its ‘higher risk’ fleet drivers who were incurring higher maintenance costs or involved in accidents.

The new system offered real-time insight for Centrica’s 1,000 line managers; enabling them to obtain individual driver ratings, helping Centrica transform its road safety record by reducing work-related accidents in 2012 by 10% and delivering significant accident damage savings.

As part of the relationship, Hitachi Capital and British Gas are also working together with Nissan on the development of its 100% electric eNV200 van that promises to reduce CO₂ and running costs for fleet operators.

British Gas fleet manager Colin Marriott said: “The partnership has been great for us and we’re looking forward to continuing our relationship with Hitachi Capital. We run a large fleet and its smooth operation supported by Hitachi Capital allows us to continue to deliver a great service to our customers. We’re now looking forward to building on the relationship in the next five years.”

Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions chief executive Simon Oliphant said: “We’re delighted to have signed this new contract and to maintain a partnership with a flagship organisation. We’re strongly committed to delivering on-going cost savings and driving cutting edge innovative fleet solutions to ensure continuous contract performance and we look forward to carrying on this work throughout this contract.”