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DHL Exel Supply Chain's home delivery division is conducting tests for Ikea with a Smith Newton battery-powered 7.5-tonner. The vehicle, which is based at Ikea's Ashton-under-Lyme store, is being trialled as part of a DHL Exel initiative. It wants to determine whether electric trucks can be used to deliver goods on behalf of its UK business customers, and if successful, Ikea could end up running an all-electric delivery fleet.

Paula Hughes, DHL's account director for Ikea, says: "We are  taking our responsibility to the environment seriously. So too are our customers, and that's why we are putting vehicles, like the one we are testing in Ashton, through an extremely rigorous examination. "The purpose is to find out which next-generation vehicles are fit for making home deliveries for companies such as Ikea. Before we introduce electric vehicles into our fleets, we need to fully understand their capabilities.

"We already know that vehicles like the one being tested can contribute to the reduction of emissions and have a positive financial impact - but we won't know just how big this impact will be until the data from the trial is analysed." DHL Exel is the latest in a long line of companies to trial Smith electric vans and trucks, including Balfour Beatty and vehicle rental firm Translinc.