Leading fuel tanker firm buys 24 electric HGVs

Wincanton, whose tankers deliver petrol and diesel to countless forecourts, has bought a fleet of 24 electric trucks in its bid to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

The new EV HGVs will take to the road this summer. The vehicles have been supplied by DAF, Volvo and Renault, and can operate at “more than 40 tonnes”, with some funding for them coming from the Department for Transport.

Charging infrastructure for the trucks is being installed at Wincanton’s depots in London, Glasgow, Somerset and Northamptonshire, while the company has further carbon reduction projects in place, including one that involves running 85% of Screwfix’s logistics fleet on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO). 

The logistics firm began life in 1925 in the dairy haulage sector, and now operates around 4,000 trucks and 4,500 trailers, including 500 ADR (Accord Dangereux Routier – French for ‘agreement for operators of hazardous trucks) vehicles. It has over 170 dedicated petrol tankers that distribute 4.5 billion litres of fuel each year, and while the firm has not specified what loads the new trucks will haul, they are predicted to reduce Wincanton’s CO2 emissions by 2,400 tonnes each year.

Carl Hanson, Wincanton’s managing director for transport, says that low-emission vehicles are “undoubtedly the future of logistics”, though he adds that “unlocking greener supply chains hinges on collaboration and optimisation”.