Volta Trucks has partnered with property owner The Crown Estate and its distribution provider Clipper Logistics to trial the full-electric Volta Zero in London’s West End as part of a scheme to decarbonize and consolidate deliveries to Regent Street retailers.
For these customers, Volta Trucks will use a single accessible consolidation center, outside London’s congestion charge zone, where deliveries are combined and dispatched to and from stores. The Volta Zero was chosen for its range of 95-125 miles which will enable zero-emission deliveries between the consolidation center and stores in the congestion charge zone. The trial is set to begin summer 2022.
The purpose-built Volta Zero has been designed with a glasshouse-style cab that increases driver visibility, safety and driver working environment standards. Its large 8.6-metric ton payload also removes several smaller 3.5-metric ton vans from the streets, which is expected to help reduce traffic congestion.
Essa Al-Saleh, chief executive officer of Volta Trucks, said, “The full-electric Volta Zero is specifically designed for zero-emission urban distribution with exactly The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics’ use case in mind. And with 8.6-metric tons of payload, it was created to consolidate deliveries and reduce congestion of smaller vehicles on city-center streets. I look forward to seeing The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics-liveried vehicles operating on the famous streets of London’s West End in only a few months’ time.”
Judith Everett, executive director for purpose, sustainability and stakeholder at The Crown Estate, added, “This partnership is another important step toward reducing congestion, improving air quality, and making our streets safer and more accessible across the West End. It will be a win-win for us and our customers, helping support their deliveries and our joint sustainability ambitions. It builds on our continued work to trial and test to see what works best for everyone using our streets, now and in the future.”
The Crown Estate’s distribution provider Clipper Logistics will also form part of this partnership to improve air quality and congestion in the city center. Clipper Logistics has been working with The Crown Estate since 2008 to operate the Regent Street delivery scheme.
Mick Doe, transport operations director at Clipper Logistics, concluded, “As a business, we recognize we are high mileage road users, but we are committed to reducing unnecessary road miles, and ensuring that what we do accumulate is cleaner. We are delighted to partner with Volta Trucks and The Crown Estate as part of our ongoing commitment to improving the Regent Street environment. The partnership demonstrates Clipper’s agility and logistics ability by working to combat congestion and environmental impact in one of the world’s busiest retail areas.”