Loblaw expanding its fleet of electric trucks

Loblaw’s plan to green its fleet is trucking along.

The grocery company announced it has ordered five battery-electric Freightliner eCascadia trucks, which are manufactured by Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA). The trucks will be delivered in 2022-2023 and will be used on routes in British Columbia.

The move follows a trial that began in early 2022 as part of Freightliner's Customer Experience (CX) fleet. In a press release, Loblaw said it would continue to use these trucks for the next three months in and around the South Surrey area.

Loblaw said the routes typically include distances between160km to 250km, “primarily hauling grocery and other retail products from the company's distribution centre to stores.”

"With approximately 10,000 deliveries to and from our stores each week, we understand the impact our fleet has on the environment. We know that through our own actions, we can play a critical role in helping Canada reach its carbon reduction targets," said Brian Springer, vice-president, transport operations, Loblaw Companies Limited, in the release.

Loblaw was one of the first Canadian companies to pre order Tesla’s electric truck called Tesla Semi in 2017. At the time, the grocer said its goal was to have a fully electric fleet to reduce its carbon footprint by 2030.