Volta Trucks will be used for deliveries to London’s retail heartland – DMA Media Group
Volta Trucks, has partnered with The Crown Estate, one of the West End’s largest property owners, and Clipper Logistics, its distribution provider, to decarbonise and consolidate deliveries into London’s Regent Street retailers.
The move is intended to improve air quality and congestion in Central London.
Launching as a trial in summer, Volta Zero the full-electric commercial vehicle manufacturer and services provider joins The Crown Estate’s latest delivery consolidation scheme for its Regent Street clients as part of its continuing commitment to cut emissions in the West End.
The Crown Estate’s London portfolio spans 10 million square feet and includes Regent Street and about half of St James’s, extending across workplace, retail, dining, leisure, and residential sectors. For Regent Street retailers, this system will offer access to a single accessible consolidation centre, just outside London’s congestion charge zone, where their deliveries are combined and dispatched to and from stores.
With a charged range of 150-200 kilometres, the Volta Zero offers zero-emission deliveries between the consolidation centre and stores. The vehicles are designed to be as safe as possible with a glasshouse-style cab to maximise driver visibility. Its 8.6-tonne payload also takes several smaller 3.5-tonne vans off the streets to reduce traffic congestion.
Since 2008, Clipper Logistics has been working with The Crown Estate to operate the Regent Street delivery scheme, which has been consolidating multiple individual goods delivery trips into fewer combined journeys, improving air quality, and supporting retailer efficiency.
Essa Al-Saleh, CEO of Volta Trucks, said: “The full-electric Volta Zero is specifically designed for zero-emission urban distribution with exactly The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics’ use case in mind. And with 8.6-tonnes of payload, it was created to consolidate deliveries and reduce congestion of smaller vehicles on city centre streets.”
Judith Everett, executive director for purpose, sustainability & stakeholder at The Crown Estate, added: “This partnership is another important step towards reducing congestion, improving air quality, and making our streets safer and more accessible across the West End. It will be a win-win for us and our customers, helping support their deliveries and our joint sustainability ambitions. ”
Mick Doe, transport operations director at Clipper Logistics, said: “As a business, we recognise we are high mileage road users, but we are committed to reducing unnecessary road miles, and ensuring that what we do accumulate is cleaner.”
Image credit | DMA Media Group
