Waitrose is trialling the use of an all-electric truck for home deliveries in London, in what is the grocer’s first trial of larger format all-electric vehicles.
The supermarket began using the Maxus chassis cab vehicle at its Enfield fulfilment centre in North London in May. If successful, it will be rolled out to other areas.
The Maxus, which is manufactured by SAIC, has a range of about 90 miles per charge. It includes the addition of a 400v refrigeration unit powered from the vehicle traction battery.
It was the first electric vehicle to allow full capacity to match Waitrose’s existing petrol and diesel fleet, a Waitrose spokesman said. It means that when matched with smart charging technology, and the 400v fridge, it will be able to complete the same routes previously as the grocer’s diesel fleet without the need for operational changes.
Cleaner and quieter
“We’re delighted to be trialling the state-of-the-art large electric vans,” said Waitrose fleet engineer Dave Wake. “Our previous tests with smaller vehicles proved a big hit with our customers living in the London area, as well as our driving partners, who enjoy the cleaner and quieter driving environment.
“We’re really excited about the positive effect these new vans have from an environmental perspective too and believe they could be an integral part of us achieving our pledge to decarbonise our fleet by being fossil fuel-free by 2030 and to reach net zero across our operations by 2035.”
Electric vehicles currently represent a small proportion of the grocer’s 1,800-strong delivery fleet, but Waitrose aims for all of its light commercial vehicles to be battery electric by 2030, a spokesman said.
The introduction of the Maxus is in addition to a trial that began in November 2021, where the supermarket began testing the use of wirelessly charged electric delivery vans from a store in St Katherine Docks in central London.
It follows the opening of a brand new electric vehicle charging hub at the grocer’s Bracknell depot, in April. The retailer has installed 14 22kW rapid charge points at the 114,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre for the exlcusive use of staff, in a bid to make it easier for them to switch to electric vehicles.
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