The supermarket has added two new 37-tonne fully electric Daf CFs to its fleet in partnership with logistics and international freight forwarding company FSEW.
The new trucks will transport food and other products between Wentloog rail terminal outside Cardiff and Tesco’s distribution centre in Magor, Wales.
To power the new HGVs, which have a range of 100 miles, FSEW has installed charging points at its site in South Wales.
The distance from Wentloog to Magor is 30 miles, with the initiative enabling Tesco and FSEW to understand the potential and range of these trucks for use throughout the UK and elsewhere in Tesco’s fleet.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and ROI CEO, commented: ‘Tesco’s distribution network is one of the largest in the UK and plays an essential role in our efforts to become net zero in our operations by 2035.
‘We’ve already made progress by starting our switch to electric home delivery vans and rolling out electric vehicles charging points for our customers. I’m excited that Tesco can also lead the way in electric haulage innovation, helping to tackle this last source of road transport emissions with the support of FSEW.’
By demonstrating that electric HGV transportation is commercially viable, Tesco hopes this service will encourage broader investment in technology and innovation to support the haulage sector’s efforts to reduce emissions and air pollution.
It will also contribute to the supermarket chain’s efforts to achieve net-zero emissions in its operations by 2035 and FSEW’s work to replace more than 40 diesel vehicles with low-carbon alternatives and switch to fleet-wide zero-emissions transport operations by 2025.
These first two electric HGVs will replace around 65,000 diesel-fuelled road miles with clean green energy, removing 87.4 tonnes of CO2e per year.
Geoff Tomlinson, FSEW Managing Director, said: ‘This is a landmark day for us here at FSEW, representing a major step forward in our commitment to providing zero-emissions transport freight services. Together we are working to create a cleaner and greener logistics experience. This is transformational for the UK’s commercial and retail industries and is just the start of our work to supply electric heavy freight vehicles to customers such as Tesco.’
