Sainsbury’s is to begin trials with two all-electric vans, an LDV EV80 the supermarket has dubbed Evie, which is already on the road, and a BD Auto e-Ducato, due to be delivered in May, named Stevie.
Both vans are running a Carrier Neos refrigeration unit and the box conversion was completed by Lawrence David.
The EVs’ load capacity is the same as a diesel vehicle and they will be delivering up to 30 online grocery orders a day to customers across central and east London.
The expected range is around 80 miles on a single charge and overnight charging points at Sainsbury’s online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by-Bow are provided by EO Charging.
Sainsbury’s wants to see whether EVs could be an efficient way of delivering groceries to customers in urban areas and if successful, the pair could be joined by more EVs in other areas served by Sainsbury’s Online.
In April 2018, Sainsbury’s became the first UK grocery retailer to deliver online grocery orders via electric cargo bike.
A fleet of five bikes delivered up to 100 online orders a day to customers across south London from the Streatham Common store.
