Royal Mail has announced that it has passed the milestone of 4000 electric vehicles (EVs) across its UK fleet. The 4,000th electric delivery vehicle was recently deployed at the company’s delivery office in Blackpool. This news comes after the company announced it had hit 3,000 electric vehicles in August 2022.
Over the coming months, the delivery office in Blackpool will have 90 electric vehicles on site. As a result, all deliveries and collections in the area will be operated by a zero emissions fully-electric fleet.
Royal Mail’s electric fleet is not only cutting emissions but reducing downtime thanks to higher levels of reliability and fewer maintenance requirements. These electric vehicles also offer up to 38 per cent extra load space helping Royal Mail deal with the ever-growing number of deliveries in the UK.
Paul Maynard, MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys, said: “Decarbonisation can often seem a remote concept to many of us, so it was great to see Royal Mail demonstrating it on the ground in my constituency.
“Posties across the Fylde Coast do a fantastic job, and they can keep on doing that with a reduced impact on the environment thanks to this new electric fleet. I look forward to the time when Blackpool goes all-electric”.
More than 100 Royal Mail delivery offices across the country have made the transition to electrified deliveries and collections. In 2021, Bristol became Royal Mail’s first all-electric fleet and five more have since followed suit. Norwich is set to become the company’s seventh all-electric delivery office later this month.
Neil Barritt, Royal Mail’s Blackpool Customer Office Manager, said “It’s been great to have the opportunity to be leading the way in the rollout of Royal Mail’s new electric fleet.
“The new vans will become a familiar sight on the streets of Blackpool and our posties are really excited about doing their bit to reduce air and noise pollution in the town.
“As a company, we pride ourselves on having the lowest reported CO2e emissions per parcel amongst major UK delivery companies and showcasing the way to achieving a more sustainable future for our fleet & our planet.”
Royal Mail’s next big milestone is hitting 5,000 electric vehicles which it expects to happen by the end of spring 2023.