A raft of organisations from a variety of sectors have pledged electric vehicles (EVs) will make up at least 5% of their vehicle fleet by 2020.

The groups, which include OVO Energy, Oxford City Council, Santander UK, Swansea University and Gatwick Airport have signed up to the Go Ultra Low initiative.

More than 100 other companies across the UK have already signed up, including Britvic and Microsoft.

Many companies have ambitions to exceed the target: Santander wants to electrify 10% of its 1,400-strong fleet by 2020, while Oxford City Council is aiming for 7% by the end of the decade.

Go Ultra Low says although almost 700,000 UK motorists would be keen to adopt the technology at work if given the opportunity, only a quarter of businesses currently offer electric company cars to employees.

Despite this, 65% of all EV registrations in the first half of this year were made by private and public sector organisations.

Poppy Welch, Head of Go Ultra Low, said: “The UK Government wants every new car and van in Britain to be ultra-low emission by 2040 and the corporate sector has a huge role to play in achieving this goal.

“Forward-thinking organisations are well on the road to emission-free and low-cost motoring, taking significant numbers of EVs onto their fleets, learning where they are fit for purpose.”