Sainsbury's begins trial of electric delivery van

Sainsbury’s zero emission electric van has begun its trial of delivering online grocery orders to customers across central and east London.

The electric van, dubbed 'Evie' will be dropping off up to 30 orders a day to customers who have shopped through the retailer’s groceries online website.

Evie will be put to the test to see whether the technology could be an efficient way of delivering groceries to customers in busy cities. With an expected range of around 80 miles on a single charge and capacity to carry the same weight as a diesel vehicle, the van will be making deliveries across London from Sainsbury’s Online Fulfilment Centre in Bromley-by-Bow and re-charging overnight.

Evie will be joined by Stevie the electric van in May, who will also take on delivery duties for customers across central and east London. If successful, the duo could be joined by additional electric vans in other areas served by Sainsbury’s Online.

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.”