Royal Mail has launched a new fleet of over 100 micro electric vehicles (MEVs), in a major step forward to both reduce carbon emissions and boost delivery speeds.
The first MEV, finished in Royal Mail’s iconic red livery, was unveiled at Saturday’s Lady Mayor’s Show in London. In the coming weeks, 104 MEVs will be rolled out in London, Bristol, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Solihull, Brighton and the Scilly Isles, just in time for the peak Christmas period.
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| Royal Mail's new Paxster MEV with the Charles III logo. (Royal Mail photo) |
Replacing 52 larger vans, the MEV fleet is expected to save around 242 tonnes of carbon emissions annually and improve local air quality, while also making delivery rounds more efficient. Thanks to their compact design, the MEVs are easier to drive and park in busy streets. Posties will also have their own MEV instead of sharing a van, streamlining route planning and speeding up deliveries.
Unlike standard electric vans, MEVs can be plugged into a regular three-pin plug socket for charging. As they do not need special EV charging infrastructure, they can be used at any delivery office, even sites that were previously ruled out due to limited yard space or electricity capacity.
Royal Mail initially trialled MEVs in 2021, but this is the first time they have been rolled out at scale. The company will use a combination of Paxster and Neomar D01 models in its fleet.
Mark Riley, Delivery Design Manager (Process and Equipment) at Royal Mail, said: “Our new micro electric vehicles are a smart solution for delivering more sustainably and efficiently, especially in busy urban areas. By replacing larger vans with MEVs, we’re cutting emissions, improving air quality, and helping our posties deliver faster in time for the festive season.”
In June, Royal Mail announced a strong reduction in its average carbon emissions per parcel delivered - already the lowest in the industry - by a fifth (20%) in the past year, strengthening its position as the UK’s greenest parcel operator*. The company has pledged to reach Net-Zero by 2040 as part of its ‘Steps to Zero’ environment strategy and has set interim targets to 2030.
In May, Royal Mail unveiled its 7,000th electric vehicle, strengthening its position as having the UK’s largest electric delivery fleet, and announced it would invest in 1,800 more electric vans and supporting charging infrastructure over the next year.
I look forward to reader photos of these in action - we're not likely to see any here in rural Norfolk!
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I think they're marvellous! Good job, RM!
ReplyDeleteYes, but the royal cypher at wheel level will be obscured by mud within a few days !
ReplyDeleteIs that handlebar steering? (I wish they'd had these when I was a postie.) It looks like it could be quite fun, as well as further helping to move pollution out of the cities (from the point of use to the point of generation, out in the wilds).
ReplyDeletePlus: sharp intake of breath at reference to "Scilly Isles" rather than "Isles of Scilly". (People of the archipelago will not be pleased.)
Yes I know! I'm waiting for my contact (on X) on that. But I'm hoping for a picture soon.
DeleteAside from the obsequious mantra of climate change in the Royal Mail's publicity , these seem an interesting novelty. Many letterboxes were put on sites a long time ago; chosen for convenience to customers; when there was less and slower traffic.To me, the advantage of these would be that they could tuck in more safely to empty boxes on main roads, and by wantzes and blind corners. Many of Royal Mail's vans are old so it is a good sign for the future that they are investing in vehicles.
DeleteI whole-heartedly think this is a real positive, we ourselves have an electric car and our whole house is electricity powered so you could say that we are very environmentally friendly and it's nice to see a major company embracing it as well, although as Ian says living in the back of beyond in good old Norfolk I'm very likely to never see one in action
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you are too dependent on electricity: so you ought to get plenty of stamps in so that you would still be able to communicate during this winter's power cuts.
DeleteWe abandoned oil when we moved last time, and then of course electricity prices went through the roof. Fortunately we have a new woodburner and this year ready supply of wood, so we don't have to buy logs either. Stamps, of course, are no problem. But who to write to with my address book powered by my computer and iPhone?
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