Woolies to phase out fuel-powered trucks in favour of electric delivery

While keeping groceries affordable is a challenge for the industry, Woolworths says it will meet its green ambitions by adopting an all-electric home delivery fleet.

Woolworths has unveiled a plan to have all of its home-delivery trucks 100 per cent electric powered by 2030, adding more than 1000 EVs to the nation’s roads.

The news came as Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said all retailers needed to “lean into” keeping food and grocery prices affordable.

He said slowly moderating inflation across the supermarket aisle was inconsistent with “patches” of different price movements, while the onset of winter and changing eating habits would make delivering value for money challenging.

Although double-digit food inflation was softening, Mr Banducci said it was not consistent in all supermarket categories as consumers sought to save money.

“It (food and grocery deflation) is not as consistent, is what I would say, there are still patches of where it moves … everything was moving up last year and it is a little more specific this year,” he said.

“But there are still lots of challenges out there that we will need to lean into and work on.

“We are all working through it, there are people looking for value for money and we need to continue to work hard to give it to them, that is our big challenge.”

Figures released on Wednesday by the ABS showed a surprise 6.8 per cent spike in the annualised inflation rate for April, up from 6.3 per cent the previous month, dashing hopes that the cost of living was coming down.

Mr Banducci on Wednesday unveiled Woolworths’ ambition to transition its fleet of home-delivery trucks to 100 per cent electric-powered by 2030.

It has received the first of 27 new EVs, which will begin delivering groceries to Woolworths’ Sydney customers over the next two months.

Woolworths’ home-delivery fleet currently comprises 1200 trucks and it is anticipated that the very last combustion-engine vehicle will join the home-delivery fleet by 2027.

“Our home delivery trucks are a familiar sight in neighbourhoods across Australia, and within the next seven years we want to make every one of them electric, and free of fossil fuels,” Mr Banducci said.

“We’re proud to be putting 27 new EVs on the road in the coming weeks – in one of the many ways we’re working to make grocery shopping greener.

“Not only can we help make our suburban streets quieter and cleaner, but we hope to set an example for other businesses to support the growth of Australia’s EV industry.”

Mr Banducci said it would be a strong selling point to shoppers who are increasingly favouring businesses that have strong green credentials.

“We know that sustainability is important to our customers. But it’s just equally important to us to be honest with you. This is as much about us as it is about our customers.

“We really care and we want to provide green solutions; we are a green brand and we believe in a green tomorrow and this is just another really important step for us in the whole way that we deliver groceries through our supply chain for our customers.

“We believe it’s important for our customers, but it’s important for us and this is a passionate topic for our team, and we’ve been working on it for three years.”

Mr Banducci said Woolworths would work with Uber drivers who deliver groceries to encourage adopting greener delivery options as well as examine the use of electric bikes for its rebranded MilkRun home-delivery service.