Foodstuffs launches electric van fleet

This story first appeared in the August issue of EVTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

The first of 28 all-electric delivery vans for Foodstuffs New Zealand’s fleet are on the road.

Fourteen are now on the go and the rest will be ready by the end of September, spread around stores from north of Auckland to Dunedin.

Foodstuffs paid $500,000 and received the same amount from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s (EECA) low emission vehicles contestable fund for the project to bring the Nissan e-NV200 vans from the United Kingdom.

Vehicle importing specialist Nichibo took care of the delivery logistics and the vans now sport New World, Pak’n Save and Four Square livery.

They have a 120km range but will mainly do deliveries in individual supermarket areas.

At a launch ceremony in Christchurch on August 4, the van keys were handed to New World Lincoln owner-operators Helen and Kyle Burnett by Selwyn MP Amy Adams.

The Burnetts hosted the launch because they’re keen sustainability and energy efficiency advocates – they even have two wind turbines in their carpark.
Adams, a new EV owner herself, couldn’t make a speech because of laryngitis so Foodstuffs and EECA representatives did most of the talking.

“The EECA funding is designed to encourage innovation and investment that will accelerate the uptake of electric and other low-emission vehicles (LEVs) in New Zealand that might not otherwise occur,” Foodstuffs New Zealand managing director Steve Anderson says.

Sustainability is very important for Foodstuffs which has successfully introduced several policies such as waste minimisation, he says.

Using e-vans will bring fuel savings, with the vans costing the equivalent of 30c a litre versus $2 a litre in fuel.
Anderson says the move to electric vehicles will not only lay the foundation for Foodstuffs transport but send a message to other businesses to “take the plunge into the future”.

The van rollout complements EV fast-charging stations being installed at some of the stores. These can also be used by customers while they shop and may be free initially in many cases.

Fast-charging points are already installed at New World supermarkets in Warkworth, Kumeu, Te Kuiti, Otaki and Northwood.

Foodstuffs New Zealand sustainability manager Mike Sammons says the stations will become increasingly useful to customers as more New Zealanders transition to EVs.
The vans are highly visible and Sammons expects they’ll be a talking point, encouraging more businesses and people to introduce EVs.

“This is the dawning of a new age
of transport.”

He says the Foodstuffs’ e-van fleet project started about 10 months before the launch and he paid tribute to those involved, including EV project manager Sigurd Magnusson.
“Also, a big thanks to the UK government for subsidising these vehicles, possibly not expecting them to turn up in New Zealand, and also engineering the pound to fall before we bought them.”

EECA made the project possible, Sammons says.
“For Foodstuffs, this is just a small part of our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and make our business more environmentally sustainable.”

EECA chief executive Andrew Caseley says anyone can apply to the authority’s contestable fund but applications must meet set criteria and have a public benefit.

The Foodstuffs e-van fleet will create more visibility around the use of EVs and encourages others to take them up, he says.

More people will develop an interest in EVs and become owners or users once they see the success of the Foodstuffs venture, Caseley says.