UK drinks retailer Majestic Wine said today (3 November) it is aiming to transform its entire fleet of 216 vehicles to electric vans by 2030.
By March 2024, the plan is to have 35 new electric vans on the road which will remove 700,000 diesel-powered road miles every year, according to the retailer.
The move is part of the business’s plan to become net zero by 2050.
Majestic said it will roll out 35 new Citroen eBerlingo and eDispatch electric vans before the end of its current financial year – and half of those are expected to hit the road before Christmas 2023. The retailer’s broader pledge to switch its entire fleet to fully electric vehicles is estimated to save five million diesel-powered miles every year and strip out 1.2 million kg of CO2 emissions.
Majestic said its vans play a central role in delivering orders for its online customers, as well as in its growing business-to-business portfolio comprising more than 3,000 on-trade venues across the UK. Each of Majestic’s 207 stores has its own dedicated delivery van, with 60% of all orders placed through the retailer’s website now dispatched from its network of shops.
Majestic said around a third of its online orders are now made via its ‘Shop Local’ service, which allows customers to shop the stock available at their local store, in real time, for free collection within four hours or next-day delivery.
The retailer said that as it grows, it is committed to doing so in an environmentally responsible manner. As part of that commitment, all new Majestic stores opened since 2020 are fitted with LED lighting, and the business said it only purchases renewable energy backed by Renewable Electricity Guarantees of Origin, which equates to 99.8% of Majestic’s total energy use.
Majestic has also recycled more than three million tonnes of corks during the past two years, repurposing used natural corks and turning them into pulp for The Eden Project. Additionally, the business has introduced a car salary sacrifice scheme to make it easier, cheaper and more convenient for colleagues across the business to lease a brand new electric or hybrid vehicle.
Majestic CEO John Colley said: “Majestic’s fleet of vans is among the busiest in retail, so we are acutely conscious of their carbon footprint and the need to go greener.
“As a business, we are determined to grow in an environmentally responsible manner and the transformation of our fleet to fully electric vehicles will slash our carbon emissions by more than 1.2 million kg every year.”
He added: “We are committed to driving positive change for our customers, colleagues and the planet. Removing all diesel vans from our fleet by 2030 – ahead of the government’s delayed ban on the sale of new diesel vehicles – is a key part of that plan.”
Colley continues: “But we can only do that with the right infrastructure of electric vehicle chargers in place across the UK, and with cooperation from our landlords to help us to install charging points across our portfolio of stores.”
[Image credit: Majestic Wine]
