Royal Mail has passed the milestone of 3,000 electric vehicles (EVs) deployed across its delivery and collection fleet in the UK – and has ordered a further 2,000.
The 2,000 new vehicles comprise 1,000 Peugeot Partner and 1,000 Peugeot Expert models and are due to be delivered to the business from August as part of the company’s plans to have 5,500 EVs by spring 2023. With lower maintenance requirements, the electric fleet is expected to provide more on-road time and higher levels of reliability. The vehicles can travel up to 210km between charges, depending on vehicle type, weather and load size. The fully electric vans have up to 38% larger load space than the vehicles they have replaced, giving them the additional capacity to deal with growing parcel volumes. With lower maintenance requirements, the electric fleet promises more on-road time and higher levels of reliability.
The initial rollout included many cities where low-emission zones are in force, including London, Bristol, Glasgow, Cambridge and Oxford. The 3,000th electric vehicle was deployed at Peterborough Delivery Office, which currently has 106 vehicles on-site, with all delivery and collection functions operated by a fully electric fleet. So far, 70 delivery offices across the UK have made the transition to move to either fully or partially electric deliveries and collections. The first site that went live with an all-electric fleet was Bristol in June 2021; the most recent to go live with the expectation to achieve 100% electrification is Letchworth, which started the journey in July 2022.
Julie David, managing director of Peugeot UK, said, “Peugeot began its relationship with Royal Mail in 2009 and I am incredibly pleased that we can continue this support with models from our award-winning electric van range. The Peugeot e-Partner and e-Expert make no compromise on useful volume or practicality compared with the diesel versions while offering all the advantages of lower running costs, ease of driving, immediate throttle response, high torque and the absence of noise, vibrations and tailpipe emissions. With every van in our range already benefitting from an electric version and every car offering an electrified variant by 2024, we look forward to continuing our support of the Royal Mail and its ambition for a greener future.”
Simon Thompson, CEO of Royal Mail, said, “Environment is the next battleground for businesses, and we are determined to lead. We already have the lowest emissions per parcel and have set an ambitious target to reduce to 50gCO2e, about the same as having a cup of tea with milk. The transition to electric vehicles is a key part of our strategy to reduce our emissions while delivering a seven-day parcel service to our customers.”