[imagesource:facebook/spar]

Grocer Spar is taking the delivery fight to the Checkers with a fleet of 65 electrified vehicles under the Spar2U banner.

Spar Group’s Blake Raubenheimer told MyBroadband that the retailer spent R6.2 million establishing the Spar2U fleet and plans to expand it further.

The 65 electric vehicles of which 52 are City Buzz 2 scooters, are powered with lithium-ion batteries that can be recharged in three hours. The retailer also has twelve three-wheelers and one City Van. According to tech news MyBroadband, Spar’s electric three-wheeled vehicles can travel the furthest at up to 100 kilometres on a single charge. The Van and City Buzz 2 scooters get up to 80km on a single charge.

Raubenheimer said the electric vehicles are charged using a 50:50 combination of grid and solar power.

“By adopting a dual charging approach, with 50% solar and 50% Eskom charging, an estimated annual offset of approximately 3.27 tons of carbon emissions per bike will be achieved,” Raubenheimer said.

“Long-term talks are underway with charging infrastructure providers to allow integration into new and upcoming charging networks. These initiatives are driven through electric vehicle suppliers in collaboration with Shell to expand the charging network and availability.”

Raubenheimer additionally mentioned that the Spar Group is considering partnering with shopping centre management at locations where it has stores to allow vehicles to charge via the shopping centre’s green charging network.

“Solar-powered driver shelters are also being considered to allow covered charging for drivers in future,” he went on to say. “Our goal is to achieve a 50% SPAR2U green fleet by 2025, not only enhancing our nationwide availability but also delivering a greater positive environmental impact.”

The retailer spends R10,960 per day charging its electric delivery fleet, with the cost per vehicle ranging from R160 to R200 for a single charge.

Spar originally announced intentions to launch Spar2U in February 2022, with select Johannesburg locations opening by the end of March that year. The green and red grocer said that the new platform “will enhance the Group’s ability to assist retailers in driving improved consumer service and engagement going forward”.

On June 8, 2022, the firm announced intentions to expand the Spar2U service to other outlets countrywide. It stated that it would be up to individual retailers to determine how to use the platform. Following the publication of Spar’s annual results for the period ended September 2023, the company told MyBroadband it had expanded the service to 373 stores across all major metros in the country.

A further 170 outlets were earmarked for rollout in the following months.

Hopefully, the convenience of getting your Spar goodies delivered to your door won’t be overshadowed by yet more scooters weaving in and out of traffic.

[source:mybroadband]