Sainsbury’s is trialling and electric van for home deliveries in central and east London.
It has named the van “Evie” and it will be used to deliver up to 30 orders a day. It expects the van to have a range of 80 miles on a single charge and the ability to carry the same weight as a diesel vehicle.
It will make deliveries from the Sainsbury’s online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by-Bow, and will be recharged overnight.
The retailer plans to introduce a second electric van in May. This has already been named “Stevie”. If these trials are successful, it plans to bring in additional electric vans to deliver in other areas.
Clodagh Moriarty, chief digital officer, said: “We’re always looking at how we can use the latest innovations to best serve our customers and this trial will help us explore how we can deliver Sainsbury’s groceries in a more environmentally-friendly way.”
