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The company behind Britain’s postal service, Royal Mail, itself owned by International Distribution Services, has unveiled its 7,000th electric vehicle, which joined the fleet at RM’s delivery office in Lambeth, south London.
The launch of the milestone vehicle was marked by a visit to the depot, which already counts 70 EVs on its fleet, by MP Lillian Greenwood, the Minister For the Future of Roads.
Royal Mail has committed to add a further 1,800 electric vans to its roster of vehicles, having purchased its first 100 EVs back in 2017. And while grid connections remain a sticking point for many firms looking to make the switch to electric, RM says “nearly all” of its electric vehicles are charged on its own properties, and using renewable energy.
The firm operates the largest fleet of commercial vehicles in the UK, and one of the largest in Europe. Only in January it announced it had acquired its 6,000th electric vehicle, adding a further 1,000 within the following four months.
The 7,000th electric Royal Mail van sits on the EMP2 platform from Stellantis, which uses this mechanical underpinning to build the Peugeot e-Expert, Citroen e-Dispatch, Fiat E-Scudo and Vauxhall Vivaro Electric; the Toyota Proace Electric sits on EMP2, too.
Royal Mail has also invested in electric HGVs, though it has only two of these on its fleet of around 4,6000 trucks, having secured an £800,000 government grant from Innovate UK to help buy the pair of 19-tonne vehicles. If those trucks were bought in the last quarter of 2024 they would have constituted 4% of the 51 EV HGV registrations made over that period.
Alistair Cochrane, Royal Mail’s chief operating officer, said that his firm had strengthened its position “as the UK’s largest electric delivery fleet”, and that these vehicles bring “huge benefits for our posties, our customers and the planet”.
Lillian Greenwood said Royal Mail’s 7000th electric van was “a crucial milestone” for the company, adding that the government has earmarked £120m to help other firms buy such vehicles, and has committed £2.3bn to industry and individuals to “make a supported switch to EVs”.
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