Trial to decarbonise central London retail distribution

Volta Trucks has partnered with The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics to decarbonise and consolidate deliveries into London’s Regent Street retailers.

Set to launch as a trial in summer 2022, the electric Volta Zero will conduct zero-emission deliveries between the consolidation centre and stores.

The Crown Estate’s London portfolio spans 10 million sq ft and comprises of Regent Street and around half of St James’s, with an offer extending across the workplace, retail, dining, leisure, and residential sectors.

For The Crown Estate’s Regent Street customers, this offers access to a single accessible consolidation centre, just outside London’s congestion charge zone, where their deliveries are combined and dispatched to and from store.

With its range of 95 - 125 miles, the full-electric Volta Zero offers zero-emission deliveries between the consolidation centre and stores. Its large 8.6-tonne payload also removes several smaller 3.5-tonne vans from the streets, which helps reduce traffic congestion.  

Since 2008, Clipper Logistics have 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, helping to tackle London’s traffic congestion, improving local air quality, and supporting retailer efficiency. The initiative was the first of its kind in London and has benefited many Regent Street customers.

Confirming the agreement with The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics, Essa Al-Saleh, Chief Executive Officer 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. I look forward to seeing The Crown Estate and Clipper Logistics-liveried vehicles operating on the famous streets of London’s West End in only a few months’ time.”

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. It builds on our continued work to trial and test to see what works best for everyone using our streets, now and in the future.”

Mick Doe, Transport Operations Director at Clipper Logistics, concluded; “As a business, we recognise we are high milage road users, but we are committed to reducing unnecessary road miles, and ensuring that what we do accumulate is cleaner. We are delighted to partner with Volta Trucks and The Crown Estate as part of our on-going commitment to improving the Regent Street environment. The partnership demonstrates Clipper’s agility and logistics ability by working to combat congestion and environmental impact in one of the world’s busiest retail areas.”