This article was first published on Convenience & Impulse Retailing, authored by Tom Oakley-Newell

Woolworths aims to have its entire home delivery fleet 100 per cent electric by 2030, with 27 new EVs coming to Sydney over the next two months.

Currently, Woolworths’ home delivery fleet is made up of 1200 trucks and growing, with the last combustion engine vehicle expected to join the fleet by 2027, as they are gradually decommissioned and replaced with EVs.

Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths Group, said over the next seven years they want to make every one of Woolworths’ home delivery trucks electric and free of fossil fuels.

“The case for a low carbon future has never been clearer and we’re backing a better tomorrow for our communities and the planet by starting the transition now.

“We’re proud to be putting 27 new EVs on the road in the coming weeks – in one of the many ways we’re working to make grocery shopping greener. Not only can we help make our suburban streets quieter and cleaner, but we hope to set an example for other businesses to support the growth of Australia’s EV industry.”

The new EVs consist of two models manufactured by Foton Motor and SAIC Motor, with both offering sufficient working range to complete daily metro home deliveries, complete with an electric refrigeration system to keep groceries cool, before returning to base to charge overnight.

The 27 new EVs will be based in Sydney delivering groceries to customers across the CBD, Inner West, Sutherland Shire, St George region, and Eastern Suburbs.

The trucks will operate out of Woolworths’ Customer Fulfilment Centre in Mascot and Caringbah, which have recently installed new EV charging infrastructure, as currently public EV infrastructure to support commercial fleets remains limited.