Delhaize tests electric home deliveries
Since 7 December, Delhaize has been delivering some of its customers' online orders using a 100% electric vehicle. In order to do this, the retailer uses a LEV (Light Electric Vehicle), which was custom-built in Belgium for the group with the lion. Every week, around 150 customers will receive their shopping in this sustainable way.
A full-scale test
Delhaize stresses that this truck is the first in the delivery fleet and, above all, that it is a test in Brussels.
The vehicle has been custom-built and features technical specifications designed to make it ultra-efficient for urban deliveries. The van is 1.44m wide, has a range of 60-70km and can carry 36 boxes of food products at a time. Lightweight and compact, the vehicle is easy to manoeuvre and park in town. Of course, the speed is also adapted to the urban environment with a "rabbit mode" and a "turtle mode" that limits performance to a maximum of 30km/h if necessary.
To optimise deliveries, the vehicle has been fitted with a roller shutter on its side. This means that deliveries can be made up to 25% faster than when the driver has to collect the products from the rear of the vehicle.
For Rodolphe Hazard, E-commerce Home Delivery Manager, Delhaize's aim is of course to reduce CO2 emissions, but also to be ready for the forthcoming regulations aimed at reducing and banning fossil fuels in towns and cities: "If the results of this test are positive during the busiest period of the year, we will know that we can deploy this system in other places and at other times. By testing alternative, and above all sustainable, home delivery solutions today, we are preparing for the future. As soon as the regulations come into force, only electric vehicles will be authorised. The aim is to be able to count on an efficient delivery flow and to guarantee the continuity of our Delhaize Delivery service.”
My 20/CENT: a test that can quickly become a reality
Delhaize has chosen to test an electric truck. Why not a robot? Why not an autonomous vehicle? Why not teleportation? Why not a cargo bike or a drone? The answer is simple! The electric vehicle is the most effective and quickest solution to implement.
As for drones, autonomous vehicles and other robots, the legislation is not yet perfected and the effectiveness of these delivery methods has yet to be proven in urban environments.
As for the cargo bike, I'll let you guess how difficult it is for a delivery driver to carry around different heavy orders and do a more or less rapid routing. The cargo bike may be effective in urban environments for certain types of sector. Of course, you all know a retailer who makes deliveries in the electronics sector in this way. In the food sector, on the other hand, given the weight, size and fragility of foodstuffs, efficiency will be achieved more quickly with an electric van.
In concrete terms, this test model of an electric van, if it works, can very quickly be duplicated. So, are we going to see more and more of these electric vehicles in Brussels and then in the other towns and cities of our kingdom? Only time will tell.
SustainabilityDurabilitéEcommerceDelivery Delhaize