Woolworths plans to make all its home delivery trucks 100% electric-powered by 2030
In what it describes as “a first for an Australian supermarket”, Woolworths Group has announced its aim to make all its home delivery trucks 100% electric-powered by 2030.
In a statement published on Thursday (1 June), Woolworths said this could mean 1,000 EVs added to Australia’s roads.
Woolworths Group has kick-started the transition by welcoming the first of 27 new EVs, which will begin delivering groceries to Woolworths’ Sydney customers over the next two months.
Woolworths home delivery fleet is currently made up of 1,200 trucks and growing. The supermarket said that it expects that “the very last combustion engine vehicle will join the home delivery fleet by 20272, as they are gradually decommissioned and replaced with EVs.
Woolworths Group CEO, Brad Banducci said: “Our home delivery trucks are a familiar sight in neighbourhoods across Australia, and within the next seven years, we want to make every one of them electric, and free of fossil fuels.
“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.
“We’re proud to be putting 27 new EVs on the road in the coming weeks – in one of the many ways we’re working to make grocery shopping greener.
“Not only can we help make our suburban streets quieter and cleaner, but we hope to set an example for other businesses to support the growth of Australia’s EV industry.”
All 27 of the new home delivery EVs will be based in Sydney, delivering groceries to customers across the CBD, Inner West, Sutherland Shire, St George region and Eastern Suburbs. At present, public EV infrastructure to support commercial fleets remains limited. The trucks will operate out of Woolworths’ Customer Fulfilment Centres (CFC) in Mascot and Caringbah, which are dedicated to picking and packing the supermarket’s online orders. The CFCs have installed new EV charging infrastructure in preparation.
Woolworths Group’s new 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 to charge overnight. They are fitted with an electric refrigeration system that runs off the vehicle’s battery, ensuring groceries stay cold.
Woolworths Group added that it will also continue to increase its use of electric and low emissions freight vehicles across its Primary Connect supply chain logistics business. The business is currently operating three electric heavy rigid vehicles, as it trials emerging technology to help decarbonise its fleet in the long-term. However, the firm said that the technology and infrastructure to support the load intensity and distances of long-haul freight is “still in its infancy2.
