Two 19-tonne electric trucks have been added to the Marks & Spencer (M&S) fleet in London.
Commercial vehicle contract hire and fleet management company Vertellus is supporting the introduction of the Renault Trucks E-Tech D Wide 4×2 rigids, which will operate from M&S’s distribution centre in Welham Green and serve stores across London.
The retailer is accessing Vertellus’s 12-month electric vehicle (EV) discovery programme. Vertellus partners with operators like M&S to plan, deploy, and optimise bodied, ready-to-work zero tailpipe emission commercial vehicles, and its dedicated programme is designed to validate electric truck performance so users can trial before committing to full-scale deployment.
The 12-month, fixed-cost programme includes the vehicle, maintenance and ongoing technical support.
M&S selected these vehicles in particular to serve locations that cannot be accessed by larger articulated vehicles. As a result the electric transport will be able to deliver to urban stores, and reduce tailpipe and noise pollution across the capital city.
The integration of the new EV discovery programme is part of a wider electric transport strategy, announced by M&S in January 2025. Some 85 lower emission vehicles were added to the retailer’s fleet this time last year, with five electric HGVs deployed between Welham Green and 30 stores across London and the south-east, including Oxford Street, Battersea Power Station, and Bluewater.
Julian Bailey, M&S head of group transport, said at the time that adapting its logistics network was “vital in achieving our Plan A Net Zero ambitions”.
The Renault electric trucks supported by Vertellus are also fitted with ‘Optifleet Check’, which delivers detailed technical reports on electrical performance and energy consumption by vehicle and driver. These insights can be used by M&S to better understand and optimise its EV operations.
Rhian Burrell, managing director at Vertellus, remarked: “Our role goes beyond vehicle supply.
“We’re proud to be working with M&S on their decarbonisation journey, partnering closely to make fleet electrification practical, measurable and commercially viable.”
[image credit: M&S/Vertellus]
