Sainsbury's is replacing 20% of its online delivery van fleet with electric vehicles. The 3.5-tonne Smith Edison, built by Smith Electric Vehicles, will have a range of 150 miles per charge.
The supermarket chain claims the vehicles will save 45 tonnes of CO2 during their first year of service. It plans to replace its entire online fleet with electric vehicles by 2010.
Smith Electric has signed an agreement with Ford to use its Transit shell as a base for the Edisons.
A Smith spokesman explains: "It gives us options for many vehicle variants, such as a minibus, as well as aiding driver acceptability."
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