Thousands of festive deliveries across London were made by a new fleet of electric vans, in a trial designed to help reduce toxic emissions.
The 25 new vans were part of an all electric fleet that together delivered an average of 80,000 parcels a week to Londoners during the Christmas season, reaching a peak of 18,600 deliveries in a single day following Black Friday.
The vans are some of the largest electric vehicles currently on the road and have been fitted with new hardware which remotely monitors environmental emissions performance, vehicle range and electrical energy consumed by the vehicle.
They are funded through a £1.1m partnership arrangement between the Mayor of London, Innovate UK, and the freight company Gnewt Cargo which delivers parcels from a number of retailers across central London.
The trial was designed to test and assess the commercial viability of electric delivery vehicles, and encourage other freight companies to switch to cleaner vehicles.
Shirley Rodrigues, London’s deputy mayor for environment and energy, said:
“Electric delivery vans have an important role to play in helping lower harmful emissions and improve air quality on our roads.
“The Mayor is determined to take the bold action needed to protect Londoners from our toxic air and wants much greater use of electric vehicles as we move towards becoming a zero emissions city.”
Sam Clarke, founder and head of business development at Gnewt Cargo, said:
“These innovative vehicles have already proved invaluable in allowing a far greater level of productivity at the busiest time of year.
“Gnewt is grateful for the contributions of Innovate UK and the support of the Mayor in achieving the successes that this project is already demonstrating.”
03 January 2018