Royal Mail is set to trial a fleet of nine new ‘autonomous ready’ electric delivery vans in London as the postal service seeks to cut emissions and increase efficiencies.
The vans, manufactured by Banbury-based company Arrival, have a range of up to 100 miles and are made of lightweight materials that can help to cut operating costs by up to 50%. Although the vans have the technology that allows them to drive autonomously, they will be operated by Royal Mail drivers during the12-month trial.
Royal Mail has a nationwide fleet of around 49,000 delivery vans and although it has trialled electric trucks before, it will be the first time Arrival’s technology has been tried.
Mr Paul Gatti, Royal Mail Fleet’s Managing Director, said, “Royal Mail is delighted to be collaborating with Arrival and pioneering the adoption of large electric commercial vehicles. We will be putting them through their paces over the next several months to see how they cope with the mail collection demands from our larger sites.”
The vans will be used to deliver packages between mail and distribution centres in the capital. The firm will begin trials using 3.5, 6.0 and 7.5 tonne trucks from its Mount Pleasant depot in central London. The centre has already been fitted with charging stations.
They are the first to roll off the production line of Arrival’s new factory, which will be able to make more than 50,000 electric vehicles each year.
The news comes just a few months after Royal Mail announced plans to buy 100 all-electric vans from Peugeot, which will go into service in December.
