A.F. Blakemore Trials Electric HGV

April 06, 2022

A.F. Blakemore trialled an electric truck at its Willenhall distribution centre for a week in March.

The 19-tonne Electra e-Cargo refrigerated rigid vehicle could travel up to 130 miles on a full charge and was used to deliver to SPAR retail stores within a 100-mile round trip of the West Midlands depot.

Over the course of a year, replacing one of A.F. Blakemore’s standard diesel rigids with this type of electric vehicle could save the company more than 30 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

A.F. Blakemore Logistics Compliance Manager Dave Higgs commented: “This trial has moved AFB a step closer to introducing its first electric HGV. It was a good fact-finding exercise and we are now looking at the results.

“We are hoping to do a number of trials over the next five years to understand the potential of electric HGVs and how they could be incorporated into our fleet.”

A.F. Blakemore has already rolled out a number of electric home delivery vans to its SPAR stores and has invested in charging points for electric car users at several of its depots.

The company’s commitment to reducing its transport emissions is part of a wider focus on sustainability, and in January A.F. Blakemore welcomed new Environmental Sustainability Manager Darshika Patel to its Responsible Business team to drive its environmental sustainability strategy forward.

The Government has announced that it will phase out new, non-zero-emission heavy goods vehicles weighing 26 tonnes and under by 2035, with all new HGVs sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2040. 
 

The electric lorry making deliveries to Blakemore Retail's Leegomery and Shawbirch stores during its trial week

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