A.F. Blakemore trials electric HGV

A.F. Blakemore has been trialling an electric truck at its Willenhall distribution centre.

The week-long trial began on March 15 and involves a 19-tonne Electra e-Cargo refrigerated rigid vehicle, which can travel up to 130 miles on a full charge. It is delivering 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 will move AFB a step closer to introducing its first electric HGV, and we are excited to be involved in the drive towards a more sustainable future.

“If the test week is successful, the business will be looking at more suppliers of electric vehicles. 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.”

The vehicle takes up to 10 hours to charge at the company’s Willenhall lorry park.

A.F. Blakemore has already begun to roll out 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 a new environmental sustainability manager 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.