Royal Mail to add 2,100 more electric vans to its fleet

Royal Mail is adding another 2,100 electric vans to its fleet over the next year, which will be the first to include the new King’s cruciform and livery.

The new vehicles will be rolled out from August across the UK, with plans for more than half to be on the streets in time for the Christmas shopping period.

Royal Mail already has the largest electric delivery fleet in the UK with around 5,000 vans, and the new additions will increase the total by almost half in just one year, bringing it to 7,100.

Most of the vans will be charged on-site at Royal Mail’s delivery offices via a purchased 100% renewable electricity supply meaning they will be zero-emission. When all 2,100 new electric vans are in use, they are expected to reduce Royal Mail’s total emissions by around 6,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

Jenny Hall, Director of Corporate Affairs at Royal Mail, said: “We are proud to take another big step towards our target to be Net-Zero by 2040. Electric vehicles provide a wide range of benefits, reducing noise and air pollution in local communities as well as reducing our impact on the environment. We want as many customers as possible can benefit from zero-emission deliveries to their doorstep.”

Royal Mail has also introduced hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) to fuel many of its heavy goods vehicle fleet, which is a renewable alternative to diesel that produces up to 90 per cent less direct carbon emissions compared to diesel. The fuel was introduced in June 2023 and has already saved more than 30,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

Royal Mail has plans to achieve Net-Zero carbon emissions by 2040.