Royal Mail has announced the introduction of a further 3,000 additional electric vehicles targeting delivery offices in areas focused on ultra-low emission zones and green cities.
It’s a ten-fold increase on its existing fleet and follows the announcement in May of its first delivery office to feature an all-electric fleet of collection and delivery vehicles, based in Bristol.
The company will also introduce charging points to all the delivery offices set to receive the vehicles, which will initially be those with ultra-low emission zones and green cities.
The addition of this latest tranche of electric vehicles brings the total amount of electric vehicles operating within Royal Mail’s fleet to around 3,300.
Simon Thompson, CEO of Royal Mail said: “Due to our feet on the street delivery model, we are the clear leader in low emissions per parcel in the UK. Electrification of our vehicle fleet will strengthen our advantage.”
He said the company will be working with vehicle manufacturers and the government to increase supply in order to accelerate the company’s transition to electric vehicles in the UK.
In May, the Company also announced the launch of 29 low emission gas-powered trucks, fuelled by Bio-Compressed Natural Gas (Bio-CNG). The 40 tonne Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are similar in size and look to a conventional Royal Mail truck but are significantly quieter. They also emit roughly 84 per cent less CO2e than a typical diesel-fuelled vehicle of this size.