Royal Mail is continuing the expansion of its sustainable delivery fleet in the UK by trialling its first ever electric truck, in partnership with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Magtec.
The Magtec MEV190 is a high-performance, type-approved 19-metric ton electric truck designed for last-mile logistics and inter-urban applications. The truck, which is built in the UK and features Royal Mail’s red livery, will be based at the Greenford Mail Centre in northwest London.
The truck will deliver and collect mail to and from nearby delivery offices and its flexible battery options mean it can cover up to 125 miles on a single charge – enough to cover most urban delivery routes.
Anna Pearson, fleet innovation and environment manager at Royal Mail, said, “We’re excited to welcome the Magtec truck to the Royal Mail fleet. We’ve been rolling out electric vans in our final-mile fleet for a number of years, and now we want to learn more about how we can decarbonize our national distribution fleet of over 4,000 trucks.
“This trial will help strengthen our position as the UK’s largest electric delivery fleet operator, while ensuring we have the reliability we need for the challenge of delivering to every single one of the UK’s 32 million addresses.”
The trial is being supported by a £800,000 (US$1.06m) grant from Innovate UK and is part of Royal Mail’s wider Steps to Zero environment strategy which aims to achieve net zero by 2040. The results of the trial will be used to help Royal Mail and other fleet operators understand the real-world benefits and practicalities of switching to electric vehicles.
Marcus Jenkins, CTO at Magtec, commented, “This collaboration represents a significant milestone in advancing EV technology for medium-duty trucks. By addressing the challenges of power inefficiencies and range anxiety, we aim to provide fleet operators with a reliable, cost-effective solution that supports their decarbonization goals while maintaining operational reliability.”
In related news, following a vote on April 30, 80.06% of shareholders at International Distribution Services (IDS), which owns Royal Mail, have approved the sale of the company to Czech businessman Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group. Click here to read the full story.