Tesco Ireland begins trial to electrify its home delivery van fleet

Ossian Smyth, Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement, eGovernment and Circular Economy, with Geoff Byrne, chief operating officer, Tesco Ireland and Phillip Mahon, Tesco home delivery driver

Customers in Dún Laoghaire will be the first to receive Tesco home deliveries using an electric vehicle

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16 November 2022

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From this week, many hundreds of households across Dún Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, will have their shopping delivered by a brand new all-electric Tesco delivery vehicle as it is trialled in the area. This is part of Tesco’s efforts to become net zero in its own operations by 2035 and will see Dún Laoghaire become the first town in Ireland to include a Tesco electric delivery vehicle.

This new van will join the existing store fleet at Bloomfields which services 650 kilometres of deliveries in and around the Dún Laoghaire area every week. The van, when fully charged, offers a range of 160 kilometres, and will take on average three to four hours to charge. It will be powered by 100% renewable energy from a dedicated charging station at its base at Bloomfields Shopping Centre.

Minister of State with responsibility for Public Procurement and eGovernment at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Ossian Smyth said he was delighted to launch the trial.

“This van is larger than your average electric vehicle, and will be able to deliver groceries, including frozen and refrigerated goods, all from batteries powered by renewable energy. I commend Tesco for introducing this pilot here in my constituency of Dún Laoghaire and I wish it every success,” Minister Smyth said.

“In this critical time for climate action, we have a responsibility to drive change. We all have to play our part to take immediate actions to shape our future,” added Geoff Byrne, chief operating officer, Tesco Ireland.

“Currently, we use sophisticated route planning and driving management systems for grocery home shopping which help schedule smarter routes for our vans, resulting in less miles travelled and fewer carbon emissions,” said Byrne. “Through these systems, our fleet is predicted to achieve a reduction of 430 tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Adding an Electric Vehicle into this mix is a further step in the right direction and should see a further 13 tonnes of C02 removed in the next 12 months.

“We’ve proudly based ourselves in Dún Laoghaire for 25 years, so I’m delighted that customers in this area will be the first in Ireland to trial this innovation in our home delivery fleet,” Byrne concluded.

 

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