Uber Technologies Inc. and Hitachi Ltd. are among the companies that will flood London with 3,000 electric vehicles as part of a study aimed at overcoming a shortage of charging points blamed for holding back sales.

The biggest-ever trial involving commercial electric vans and cars also includes energy suppliers Centrica PLC and SSE PLC. It will gather data on driving habits and journeys over three years with the aim of devising the optimum network for charging points and evaluating when electricity will be most in demand.

Charging infrastructure is currently limited even in the biggest cities and the information derived from the study, to be shared across the technology and automotive industries, will help inform corporate and government investments and decision-making, the Optimise Prime consortium said Friday.