Woolworths New Zealand plans to transition 100% of its home delivery trucks to electric by 2030.

The announcement comes as the retailer releases its 2023 Sustainability Wrap, and says it is the first commitment of its kind for a New Zealand supermarket.

The move is expected to add approximately 300 trucks to the country’s electric vehicle fleet over the next seven years, with Woolworths New Zealand delivery service covering Kerikeri to Invercargill.

Woolworths New Zealand managing director Spencer Sonn said that it is critical for businesses such as Woolworths to take a leadership role in switching to lower emissions vehicles and backing electric options.

“The need for a low carbon future has never been clearer, and we know we need to take action today to ensure we’re leaving a better tomorrow for those coming after us,” he said.

“We have one of the biggest home delivery truck fleets in the country, and we hope this will encourage more businesses to look at making the change over to electric vehicles too.”

“It’s certainly Sonn said it is not going to be a simple move, with some of Woolworth’s trucks travelling as far as 300km in one day.

“But we’re determined to get to 2030 with a fully electric fleet. We took a lot of learnings from our first five EV trucks and will be working closely with our drivers to ensure our transition is carefully phased over the next seven years and balances practicality with ambition,” he said.

The supermarket retailer first introduced electric vehicles to its home delivery fleet in 2019 with support from EECA.