Grocery and milk doorstep delivery service Milk & More has switched the last vehicles on its 500-strong fleet to electric vehicles – a move said to make it the largest electric fleet in the country.
The firm’s roll-out of 159 new LDV EV80 vans will complete in October 2019 as part of its wider commitment to reducing its environmental footprint, and will see the full electric fleet travel over 14 million miles a year, saving 3.4 million litres of diesel annually while also benefiting customers through noise reduction; a particular advantage as many of its milkmen and women make deliveries before 7am.
Milk & More’s work to deploy the EVs has seen it partner up with independent supplier and installer of EV charging equipment, Elmtronics, which is providing 80 Dual Smart Charging stations for the electric delivery vans whilst also commissioning each site.
Elmtronics has guided Milk & More through the switch, providing education and support to enable the team to make an informed decision on the best type of chargers for its vehicles, with Milk & More having selected the Alfen Eve Dual Smart Chargers as the optimum solution. The Dual Smart Charging Stations are 7kW Dual Eve units and the charging stations will all be connected to the Hubsta Network – an intelligent network that connects to over 55,000 charge points worldwide.
The project has also embraced the need to future-proof charging and the infrastructure installed can be increased over time to occupy more vehicles.
Marc Ling, development manager at Milk & More, said: “We chose to work with Elmtronics as from the initial discussions there was a clear understanding from Elmtronics of the direction of the Milk & More business and our fleet strategy in terms of the large electric vehicle projects we are undertaking.
“Our Partnership is built on strong communication and a collaborative approach across all aspects with a very good face-to-face relationship with excellent support and advice throughout the process.”
