Royal Mail is expanding its fleet of 100% electric vehicles with 190 green-coloured zero-emission vans as it steps up efforts to reduce CO2 emissions.
Following the successful roll-out of 100 electric vans around the UK last year, the British postal group will introduce the new vehicles in selected areas of London and surrounding areas of South-East England this month.
The mix of Mercedes-Benz eVito and Peugeot Partner vans are charged via wall or floor mounted charging posts. The small and mid-sized vans can travel between 93 to 106 miles per charge and can be powered from flat in six to eight hours, Royal Mail explained.
They are specially designed to help postmen and women deliver letters and parcels in a secure and environmentally-friendly way. With load capacities ranging from 3.7m3 to 6.3m3, the vehicles will operate as part of usual delivery routes.
The expansion will complement the company’s iconic existing red fleet of over 41,500 vans, and forms part of Royal Mail’s involvement in the Optimise Prime project, which aims to bring together leading power, technology, fleet and transport companies. Led by Hitachi Vantara and UK Power Networks, Optimise Prime is the world’s biggest electric vehicle demonstrator project, and brings together leading power, technology, fleet and transport companies – including SSEN, Uber and Centrica – to test and implement the best approaches to the EV rollout for commercial enterprises.
Royal Mail said that it has already reduced its overall carbon emissions by 29% since 2004, and with the UK's largest "Feet on the Street" network of 90,000 postmen and women, it already plays a key role in keeping its carbon emissions low. The expansion of its fleet of electric vans and recent trial launch of e-Trikes serve as examples of its efforts to continue to reduce CO2 emissions associated with its operations.
Paul Gatti, Royal Mail Fleet Director said: “As a company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact, whilst ensuring we continue to meet customer expectations. This trial is part of a programme of initiatives across our business that will ensure we can continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and in the most environmentally-friendly way possible.”
Nicole Thompson, Director, Social Innovation & Co-creation Partnerships, Hitachi Vantara said: “The Optimise Prime consortium is delighted to see the first tranche of new commercial electric vehicles on the road. By sharing data and collaborating with this industry-led initiative, Royal Mail is helping us pave the way for the mass adoption of electric vehicles in the UK.”
