Cambridgeshire-based family firm Welch’s Transport is gearing up to provide local businesses with a net zero pallet delivery service as it awaits the arrival of its first fully electric Renault HGV.
Welch’s new electric vehicle is expected next month and should be on the roads around Cambridge soon after. It will be identifiable by its Cambridge-centric livery featuring the city’s skyline in eye-catching ‘electric’ colours.
The move marks the company’s first step to creating a greener Cambridge, with the fully electric 19 tonne vehicle able to deliver general haulage, palleted and hazardous goods.
The move chimes with Cambridge City Council’s Climate Change Strategy, which aims for the city to become net zero by 2030.
The first step in the new Carbon Management Plan is reducing direct carbon emissions from fleet vehicles – including vans, trucks and refuse vehicles.
The new E-tech D Wide Electric 19-tonner features a Bevan Series curtainside body, a D’hollandia 2000kgs retractable tail lift, E-Tech 265 kWh lithium-ion traction batteries and four battery packs of 66 kWh each, located in the wheelbase.
It also has a dual dual electric motor with a maximum power of 500hp, max torque pf 850 Nm and a range of up to 315km.
The reduction gearbox has two forward speeds and one reverse and the truck is equipped to carry caged as well as palletised goods.
Chris Welch, director of Welch’s Transport, said: “The arrival of our new electric HGV will help the City Council, and businesses in the city centre realise their Net Zero climate ambitions.
“Multi-national transport and logistics companies must account for vehicle range and available charging infrastructure when plotting out electric vehicle routes for cities like Cambridge, and we are ideally positioned to integrate fully electric vehicles into our fleet due to the prime location depot in Duxford and our newly installed charging station.”
Welch’s Transport has been operating in Cambridgeshire for nearly 90 years and has made it an ambition to provide the best green logistics solution for organisations in and around the city.
Welch added: “The combination of our knowledgeable local drivers, and our new electric HGV will revolutionise last mile deliveries in the Cambridge. We can support every city centre organisation – as well as those in business parks, looking to improve their operations and meet their sustainability goals.”
For more stories tracking the industry journey to decarbonisation see our new Freight Carbon Zero website.
