Coles has activated the first fully electric delivery van in its online fleet.
It will complete up to 240 deliveries a week in Queensland.
The new addition comes as Coles pledges to install electric fridges in 500 of its delivery vans following a successful trial that ran earlier this year.
The vans will operate up and down the east coast of Australia and will emit fewer emissions and reduce running costs.
Coles General Manager of Online Network and Growth, James Geddes, said the new electric vehicle (EV) delivery van will support Coles to achieve its target of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by more than 75 per cent by 2030.
“We are proud to introduce our first fully electric vehicle to our fleet of Coles Online delivery vans,” he said.
“Making around 40 deliveries to customers each day, the EV is a quieter, more efficient vehicle that produces fewer emissions than a petrol-powered vehicle.
“With up to 20,000 Coles Online deliveries made 7 days per week across 95 per cent of Australia, we are in a unique position to introduce more sustainable ways of delivering groceries to our customers.
“We look forward to using the insights gained from this trial to welcome more electric vans to our growing fleet around the country soon.”
According to Coles, the LDV eDeliver vehicle will emit less emissions than petrol powered vehicles and save up to $170 on fuel each week.
In addition to the new electric delivery van, Coles has partnered with Linfox in the third trial of an electric-powered truck in the retailer’s supply chain that will reportedly supplant more than 60 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions each year.
Coles is also partnering with Toll Group and Nexport to trial the first electric yard tractor in its supply chain.
Capable of near 24-hour continuous operation and delivering zero emissions, the yard tractor is currently operating at a Coles Distribution Centre in Melbourne.
Coles also introduced ten online delivery vans equipped with solar-powered electric fridges in parts of Victoria and Queensland.
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