Australian transport and logistics giant Linfox has announced the delivery of its first electric truck for Australian supermarket Coles.
The Fuso eCanter truck is now delivering stock to New South Wales stores in a trial being conducted by both Coles and Linfox, and is being powered by 100% renewable electricity.
Delivering groceries from Coles’ Eastern Creek Distribution Centre in Sydney’s west to a number of Coles and Coles Local supermarkets in New South Wales, the first Coles electric truck is expected to avoid more than 60-tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions per year.
“Coles’ first electric truck is a big step to introducing alternate fuel technologies to our supply chain, and we are excited about the opportunity to see more electric vehicles delivering groceries to our distribution centres and supermarkets in the future,” said David Clark, Coles head of transport safety & sustainability.
“By working with Linfox, we have considered the sustainability of the truck, from its carbon footprint when operating, to the end-of-lifecyle impacts on the environment.”
The deployment of Coles’ first electric delivery truck is part of the company’s larger ‘Together to Zero’ strategy which sees the supermarket giant commit to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and sourcing 100% renewable electricity by mid-2025.
Coles customers with electric vehicles are also able to charge their vehicles while they shop at some Coles supermarkets and Coles express sites, with electric charging stations at 12 supermarket sites and two additional Coles Express sites.
Linfox currently operates six electric vehicles in partnership with major customers, including Victoria’s Bitter (VB), Woolworths, Bunnings, and Bevchain.
Linfox and VB announced in the middle of 2021 the launch of a Volvo FL Electric truck which would begin making deliveries from Asahi Beverages’ distribution centre in Melbourne’s west.
This was followed up by an announcement in October that, in partnership with Primary Connect, the supply chain arm of Australian supermarket giant Woolworths Group, Linfox was launching another Volvo FL Electric for deliveries from its Melbourne fresh food distribution centre.
Linfox followed this up again just last month, when it announced that both Australian home hardware giant Bunnings and BevChain, itself a subsidiary of Linfox, were trialling electric trucks, with two Fuso eCanters operating for Bunnings in Melbourne’s south-west, and another two eCanters would operate for BevChain in metropolitan Sydney.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.