German global discount supermarket chain Lidl has announced that it will this year start to transition its fleet to electric vehicles in Sweden.
The announcement signals the latest milestone in Lidl’s partnership with Swedish transport company Einride, which began in 2017.
Lidl’s transformation to a zero-emissions transport network in Sweden will happen in stages and focus mainly on electrification in the short-term, with automation coming in the next phase.
“At Lidl, we intend to be the industry leader for sustainable and completely fossil-free transport by 2025,” said Carl Seder, logistics manager of Lidl Sweden.
“To enable this, we will now begin the transition to fully electric transport together with Einride”
The project will initially focus on the Stockholm region, where regular transport between Lidl’s central warehouse and stores in the area using electric vehicles will commence in October.
The scope will subsequently be expanded to include more of Lidl’s operations in Sweden.
Lidl said its 2025 goal means a significant proportion of all Lidl transport will take place with Einride electric vehicles, as well as many shipments completed without a driver in the vehicle.
The platform enabling the transition is Einride’s Freight Mobility Platform, an intelligent transport planning and execution engine, built to handle transport with all types of vehicles, with or without a driver.
The platform collects transport data and automatically optimises routes and schedules while providing plans for how to introduce electric transport into the fleet.
It also serves as a digital interface to interact and communicate with Einride’s driverless vehicles.
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