Electric trucks can invigorate South Africa’s transport industry
Shoprite is first South African retailer to pilot heavy-duty Scania electric truck, confirming what we suspected: the country’s transport industry is ready for electrification!
At the end of 2022, the Scania electrification revolution reached its fifth global continent: Africa.
For that’s when South African retail company Shoprite Group began piloting a Scania heavy-duty electric truck in its daily refrigerated transports for local deliveries.
Runs 250km on a single charge
The electric motor of Shoprite’s Scania 25P can provide 230kW of power, while its 300 kWh battery has a range of up to 250km on just a single charge.
The Scania truck can charge in about 90 minutes via a 130kW charger, using renewable energy generated by Shoprite’s solar installations, which are also present in the majority of the 900 trucks and 1,360 trailers in its combustion-engine fleet.
There are two other energy-conscious features. A fully electric cooling system is also powered by the vehicle’s battery packs, and, also cool, the truck’s signage glows in the dark. The signage absorbs the energy from bright sunlight and emits it again at night.
Electric trucks – a real alternative to combustion engines
Scania believes that electric trucks have the potential to invigorate South Africa’s heavy transport industry.
“Electrification marks a new era for the transport industry,” explains Mark Templeton, Sustainability Manager, Scania South Africa.
“Scania has passed a number of milestones on our electrification road map, and we are confident we can offer our customers a credible alternative to vehicles with internal combustion engines.”
Important step on the company’s sustainability journey
For Shoprite, the Scania electric truck is a significant step on its sustainability journey.
“We place significant focus on reducing environmental impact across our operations. One of the ways we’re doing this is by increasing the energy efficiency of our truck fleet. The acquisition of this, one of the world’s most advanced electric trucks, which we will charge using our existing renewable energy infrastructure, is another major move in this direction," says Andrew Havinga, Chief Supply Chain Officer Shoprite Group.
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