The UK’s largest retailer, Tesco, has introduced a 500th electric van to its home delivery fleet.
The vehicle will go into service at the supermarket’s Sheffield Extra store, making it the first of its shops in Yorkshire to have a fully electric fleet. In total, there are more than 30 Tesco stores across the UK operating with a fully electric van fleet.
According to the supermarket chain – which recently announced that it has had its net zero targets verified by the Science Based Targets institute – since it introduced its first electric van in 2020, these non-fossil fuel vehicles have replaced 15 million diesel delivery miles.
As part of its ambition to become a net zero business by 2050, Tesco has committed to operating a full electric van fleet in the UK by the end of 2030. The retailer said that moving the whole UK delivery fleet to electric vehicles (EV) would be the equivalent to taking 22,000 cars off the road each year.
Jason Tarry, Tesco CEO for the UK & Republic of Ireland, said: “The delivery of our 500th EV home delivery van to our Sheffield Extra store is an important landmark as we move towards a fully electric fleet across the UK by 2030.
“Making this change will reduce our carbon emissions as a business, improve the air quality for the communities we serve in Sheffield, and help us reach our commitment to be carbon neutral in our own operations by 2035.”
Tesco put its first 30 electric delivery vans on the road in Greater London in 2020, but Glasgow was first Scottish city to transition to all-electric Tesco home delivery fleet in 2021 as part of the retailer’s efforts to help create a legacy around COP26, the global environmental summit which took place in the city that year.
The Tesco distribution fleet currently has three electric vehicles, including two rigid and one HGV. Tesco has also trialled refrigeration units powered by solar panels rather than using traditional diesel engine technology.
[Image credit: Tesco]
