Woolworths to electrify home delivery fleet

Woolworths Group has announced its aim to make its home delivery trucks 100% electric-powered by 2030, which will see more than 1000 EVs added to Australia’s roads. The company has kick-started the transition by welcoming the first of 27 EVs, which will begin delivering groceries to Sydney customers over the next two months.

The home delivery fleet is currently made up of 1200 trucks and growing. Woolworths anticipates that the last combustion engine vehicle will join the home delivery fleet by 2027, as they will be gradually decommissioned and replaced with EVs.

Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO, said, “The case for a low carbon future has never been clearer and we’re backing a better tomorrow for our communities and the planet by starting the transition now.”

The EVs consist of two models manufactured by Foton Motor and SAIC Motor, which both offer sufficient working range to complete daily metro home deliveries before returning to base for overnight charging. They are fitted with an electric refrigeration system that runs off the vehicle’s battery, ensuring groceries stay cold.

Woolworths will continue increasing its use of electric and low emissions freight vehicles across its Primary Connect supply chain logistics business, which currently operates three electric heavy rigid vehicles, as it trials emerging technology to help decarbonise its fleet in the long term. At present, the technology and infrastructure to support the load intensity and distances of long-haul freight are still in their infancy.

By 2030, Woolworths Group intends to have reduced its overall operational transport emissions by 60% compared to today and to have decommissioned more than 3000 internal combustion engine vehicles from its company-wide fleet.