We don’t usually cover van fleet buying decisions here on Parkers, but this is a particularly unusual – and therefore interesting – example. Milk & More, which is Britain’s largest milk delivery service apparently, has just purchased 200 StreetScooter electric vans.
Not only is this the UK’s largest single electric vehicle (EV) fleet order ever to date – an investment to the tune of £6.5 million – it also represents the first time StreetScooters have ever been seen on British roads.
Furthermore, combined with Milk & More’s 200 existing electric milk floats, the new electric vans mean a third of the company’s fleet are now zero emissions electric vehicles.
First things first: what is a StreetScooter electric van?
We’ve mentioned them briefly in our main electric van guide, but StreetScooters are already rather unusual because they’re not produced by a regular car or van manufacturer – rather they’ve been dev eloped as a subsidiary of the Deutsche Post parcel firm in Germany.
Deutsche Post is more familiar in the UK in the guise of DHL, but may ring a few bells with regular Parkers Vans readers because it’s also currently developing a large electric van based on the Ford Transit chassis.
These smaller StreetScooter models pre-date that project by a number of years, and can already be seen in service with DHL Deutsche Post in Germany.
The StreetScooter box vans chosen by Milk & More have a 905kg payload and 8.0 cubic metres of load space – enough capacity to transport 860 pints of milk plus the other sundries the company provides to its customers.
They also have a 75-mile driving range per charge – which sounds like it should be more than enough for most milk rounds.
Why has Milk & More chosen the StreetScooter EV?
Since most of the milk deliveries are carried out by 7am, the silent electric motor drive is seen as a big advantage – but so too is the fact that the StreetScooters are exclusively left-hand drive.
This means the milkmen and women driving them can get out onto the pavement rather than the road, improving their safety.
What’s more, they are significantly cheaper to run, with Milk & More reporting that in the first month of operation it’s seen a 90% reduction in ‘operational fuel costs’ versus the diesel vans the StreetScooters have replaced.
Sorry – did you say a 90% reduction in fuelling costs?
Exactly. An enormous difference, and one so hard to ignore, Milk & More says it’s already ‘likely’ to add to fleet of 200 StreetScooters later in the year.
CEO of Milk & More Patrick Muller commented: ‘The StreetScooter is an ideal fit, from an environmental and noise reduction standpoint, to both us and our customers. We’re on a transformational journey, and the StreetScooter certainly helps us make this iconic tradition relevant to 21st century customers. It’s an exciting time for the business.’
Also read:
>> The Parkers Vans guide to electric vans
>> Official pictures and details of Ford Transit-based Deutsche Post electric van
>> Renault Kangoo ZE 33 review – the longer-lasting electric van
