Sainsbury’s introduces the Evie electric van for grocery deliveries
Sainsbury’s has begun to deliver online grocery orders to customers in central and east London by a zero emission electric van.
Called Evie, the 100% electric vehicle will drop off up to 30 orders a day to customers who have shopped through the retailer’s groceries website.
With the van producing zero emissions, Sainsbury’s is using it as a test to see whether the technology could be an efficient way of delivering groceries to customers in busy cities.
The vehicle has an expected range of around 80 miles on a single charge and the capacity to carry the same weight as a diesel vehicle. The deliveries will be made from Sainsbury’s online fulfilment centre in Bromley-by-Bow.
Sainsbury’s will also be introducing the Stevie electric van in May, which will also take on delivery duties for customers across central and east London. If successful, the duo could be joined by further electric vans in other areas served by the retailer’s online business.
Clodagh Moriarty, Sainsbury’s group chief digital officer, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Evie to the team and lead the charge in putting the latest electric van technology to the test for grocery deliveries. We’re always looking at how we can use the latest innovations to best serve our customers and this trial will help us explore how we can deliver Sainsbury’s groceries in a more environmentally-friendly way.”
