Retail group invests £1.5m in deal with Toyota
CO-OP is expanding its electric home delivery fleet with Toyota – investing £1.5million to replace and upgrade its vehicles, and to support net zero goals.
More than 50 new Proace City EV compact vans are entering service, with the outlay aimed at more rural communities, where courier services tend to be limited or unavailable.
Some 17 of the new EVs are being introduced to Scottish Co-op stores at Auchterarder, Balloch, Banff, Beith, Buckie, Burntisland, Caol, Castle Douglas, Duns, Kilsyth, Larkhall, Lochgilphead, Lochore, Mallaig, New Macher, Stornoway and Thurso.
Toyota is an established partner of Co-op’s Quick Commerce rapid delivery operation, with this latest vehicle acquisition programme extending the relationship.
Co-op says it has a clear goal of growing its online business and more than 86% of the UK population already has access to Co-op groceries online through either Co-op’s own online shop – shop.coop.co.uk – or its strategic partners.
Anthony Molloy, Co-op Quick Commerce delivery and technology manager, said: “We continually explore new and better ways in which we can enhance reliability, extend our reach and better serve our members, customers and communities.
“This investment helps us to achieve that, and is another step towards reducing emissions from our fleet and lowering our impact on the climate. We are delighted to take delivery of our new fleet of electric home delivery vehicles.”
Neil Broad, general manager of One Toyota Fleet Services, said: “Our Proace City vans are proving the ideal solution for Co-op in its drive to provide prompt, reliable and efficient delivery services to its millions of customers nationwide while at the same time making a sustainable contribution towards achieving carbon reduction and net zero goals.
“The Proace City is a key model in our comprehensive Toyota Professional light commercial range, with our multipath technology approach ensuring there are powertrain options to meet different business needs and priorities.”
