Scottish wholesalers offered opportunity to rent electric HGV

The Scottish Wholesale Association (SWA), as part of its ongoing work to help the wholesale industry transition to net zero, is partnering with Renault Trucks and contract hire company, Vertellus, to offer members – both wholesalers and suppliers – the opportunity to rent a fully electric Renault Trucks E-Tech D 18-tonne HGV (rigid, curtainsider or refrigerated) for 12 months, at the near equivalent cost of renting a diesel HGV.

As an added incentive, Vertellus is also supplying the required charger, but members can claim back £3,000 – that’s £1,000 each month for the first three months.

Five vehicles have been made available to the SWA by Renault Trucks as part of Vertellus’ EV Discovery Programme, and interested members must have ordered their vehicle and take delivery by late November, or potentially early December.

Carlos Rodrigues, managing director, Renault Trucks UK & Ireland, said: “We are delighted to partner with the SWA to support its members in decarbonising their fleets by offering Renault Trucks through the Vertellus EV Discovery Programme, which provides an affordable, low-risk opportunity to trial electric trucks in real-world operations.

“The time to drive the transition to greener freight transport is now, and the SWA is perfectly positioned to lead this change across Scotland.”

Ylva Haglund, SWA head of sustainability, said: “The offer is for a 12-month trial rental period, with a breakout period after three months, the hope of which is to build confidence within the wholesale channel and help transition members to net-zero fleets as part of their ongoing vehicle replacement strategy.”

The SWA has formed a close working partnership with both Renault Trucks and Volvo, together with other senior leaders from Scotland’s HGV industry, as it strives to build sectoral confidence in net-zero HGV technology.

During the past two years, the SWA has conducted trials using a Volvo electric truck to glean insights into key aspects of the technology including cost, charging infrastructure, and performance. The trial’s outcomes were used in case studies designed to inform members how to transition their fleets to electric vehicles.

This initial test formed part of the SWA’s wider mission to facilitate the decarbonisation of transport fleets in Scotland’s food and drink supply chain and contribute to Transport Scotland’s Zero Emission Truck Taskforce of which SWA is a member, along with organisations from the haulage and logistics sector; energy sector (both hydrogen and electricity); truck manufacturing; government; unions; and commercial financiers.

Through its work on the Taskforce, the SWA also contributed to the HGV Decarbonisation Pathway for Scotland, published in March 2024.

Meanwhile, the SWA has ambitious plans to reach net zero by 2040, aligning with the UK target for the sector, and in time for Scotland’s net-zero target of 2045.

Ms Haglund added: “Through our ongoing work with both Renault Trucks and Volvo, and with other stakeholders, we have contributed to the Scottish Government’s HGV Decarbonisation Pathway.

“Our own report, ‘Decarbonising the Scottish Wholesale Sector’, explores our sector’s carbon emissions and attitudes to climate action, and shows that the majority of operational emissions for Scottish wholesalers are from vehicle fleets – in fact, HGV fuel use makes up an estimated 63.7% of operational carbon emissions in the Scottish wholesale sector.

“Our report further shows that there are differences in emissions for different sizes of wholesalers, with vehicle emissions accounting for a higher proportion of emissions from SMEs.”

She continued: “There is much work still to be done and while is crucial that we address logistics emissions to reach net zero, there must be investment in infrastructure, along with more help and advice for businesses.

“The cost of zero-emission HGVs is significant, and we hope that our members take advantage of this latest opportunity to rent a fully electric Renault 18-tonne HGV for 12 months, as part of their transition to a net-zero fleet.”