METRO Germany has signed a cooperation agreement to purchase electric trucks and thus supports the group-wide expansion of electromobility. With its sCore strategy, METRO AG has set itself the goal of decisively strengthening the Food Service Distribution (FSD) as a significant growth factor in the multichannel business model and tripling FSD sales across the group by 2030.
The expansion of the electric truck fleet is an essential element to make the resulting increase in traffic as climate-friendly as possible.
METRO Germany has now taken the first step by signing a cooperation agreement with Volta Trucks, a manufacturer and service provider of fully electric commercial vehicles. As a result, all-electric Volta Zeros will be gradually deployed at METRO Germany from August 2023 onwards, initially in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria and Berlin.
"Volta Trucks is the ideal partner to launch a more sustainable truck fleet, which METRO Germany aims for in the long term. With the deployment of the Volta Zero, specifically designed for an urban environment, we are making a further contribution to environmentally conscious mobility and lower emissions," said Martin Schumacher, CEO of METRO Germany.
With e-trucks, METRO Germany plans to expand its delivery fleet sustainably. In addition, electric vehicles are already being used in transport and delivery logistics in five other METRO countries, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Austria.
Since 2021, the group-wide goal has been to consistently reduce the CO2 footprint worldwide and be completely climate-neutral in its business operations by 2040. The wholesale company's transport and FSD operations are critical factors. In addition to efficient route planning, the focus here is mainly on the drive systems. Even though there is constant optimisation in the field of combustion engines, the future will be characterised by alternative drives.
To achieve the group-wide climate protection goals, METRO will invest a total of more than one billion euros, in addition to the promotion of electric mobility, for extensive measures to increase energy efficiency, the phase-out of fossil heating, the expansion of renewable energies and the shift to natural refrigerants in cooling.
