Ocado has launched a trial of electric-assisted and pedal-powered vehicles to deliver groceries.
The trial, which is operated by Ocado’s Zoom rapid delivery service, began out of the retailer’s flagship site in Acton, west London, on January 28.
The vehicles include electric refrigerated vans, refrigerated electric-assisted vehicles and pedal-powered cargo bikes that can travel up to 40 miles.
Ocado has launched this trial with the aim of delivering more orders per journey, increasing efficiency and replacing the number of petrol-powered vehicles on the road with these zero-emission alternatives.
Customers are able to choose from a range of 10,000 products and select whether they want their groceries delivered as soon as possible or later that day.
The fastest delivery on record is eight minutes, with an average delivery time of 40 minutes.
Ocado said the customer response to the trial has been very positive so far.
Ocado plans to open “several more” Zoom sites across London by 2025, as well as increase the number of electric vehicles in its Ocado.com fleet in a bid to reach net zero by 2035.
Head of Ocado Zoom George Dean said: “We’re really excited to see a new generation of vehicles out on the road. We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint and being the best neighbour we can, while delivering groceries to our customers as fast as possible.
“This trial is an important step in what I hope will be a rapid expansion of our non-emitting fleet.”
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