Royal Mail Hits 7,000 Electric Vehicles in London Depot
At South Lambeth Delivery Office, Royal Mail just parked its 7,000th electric vehicle (EV), and that says a lot about how quickly they're turning post vans green. Back in 2017, if you spotted a Royal Mail electric van, it was something new—the company had only 100. Fast forward to now, and Royal Mail holds the crown for the largest electric vehicle delivery fleet in the UK.
The milestone van is based on the Stellantis EMP2 platform. It's the same guts you'll find in the Peugeot e-Expert and Citroën e-Dispatch, so we're not talking about experimental one-offs. With this delivery, South Lambeth now runs 71 EVs side-by-side, cutting down road fumes in the heart of London. Lillian Greenwood, the Minister for the Future of Roads, dropped by to back the occasion and spotlight the government's push for cleaner air through low-emission transport.
But they're not even close to finished. Royal Mail is on track to add 1,800 more electric vans in the coming year. Here’s what makes it a bit special: nearly half of these vans will roll straight off the production lines at the Ellesmere Port factory in the UK, mainly thanks to Stellantis ramping up UK output. That’s a boost not just for green transport but for British manufacturing jobs too.
Green Energy, Homegrown Innovation, and Next-Level Ambitions
Here’s a part you don’t always see in stories about delivery fleets: Royal Mail charges its EVs using onsite stations, almost all powered by 100% renewable electricity. That’s not just a feel-good move; it skips over the headaches of unpredictable grid supply and keeps things reliably green. The company says this setup means their carbon footprint stays as light as possible.
No one’s pretending that moving from diesel to electric overnight is easy, especially for a huge operation like Royal Mail. Logistics is a beast, and electric delivery vans are just one piece of the puzzle. That’s why they’re taking things up a notch and testing out full-sized electric trucks for the first time, partnering with Magtec, a British engineering company, for the task. Thanks to an £800,000 Innovate UK grant, these massive 19-tonne EV trucks are doing their rounds in real-world delivery routes right now. The company wants to see how these lorries handle British roads, tight city streets, and those all-too-familiar rain-soaked mornings.
Royal Mail’s Chief Operating Officer, Alistair Cochrane, is pretty clear about the mission: this isn’t just about environmental bragging rights. Besides helping the planet, electrifying the fleet reduces daily running costs, meaner maintenance bills, and smoother, quieter rides for postal workers. When half the country's still stuck behind diesel vans, Royal Mail’s leap is a real standout.
The end goal sits on the horizon: net-zero delivery operations by 2040. It’s ambitious, but Royal Mail’s getting after it with serious investment and a testing spirit. As other couriers try to play catch-up, all eyes are on those red electric vans zigzagging across UK neighborhoods—proof that sometimes, even the oldest names in the business can lead a green revolution.