The streets of Maidstone will be that little bit cleaner and greener from today as the city has been chosen to host the UK's largest fleet of electric, zero emission delivery vehicles.

The two 7.5-tonne trucks, part of express delivery giant TNT's fleet of non-polluting vehicles, have just been delivered to TNT's Maidstone depot at Hall Road, Aylesford, where they will be charged at the end of its working day, ready for them to reach speeds of up to 50mph and travel up to 70 miles the next day - perfect for delivery operations around Maidstone and Kent. 

Sam Hopes, Maidstone Depot General Manager said: "We're absolutely delighted to have these electric trucks as part of our fleet of vehicles at the depot. Not only do our drivers really appreciate how easy they are to drive - they really are 'push and go' - over time they really are going to make a difference to the environment.

"Wherever practicable, we'll be looking to add more electric vehicles at Maidstone. TNT is often known at the 'big orange' around the world, but we're certainly becoming a shade greener as time goes by."

The launch in Maidstone is part of TNT's roll-out programme of the world's largest fleet of electric trucks, enabling it to reduce its carbon footprint by 1.3 million kg of CO² a year. 

The vehicles in Maidstone will form part of a £7m 100-strong fleet of unique battery-powered trucks that will replace their diesel equivalents in 24 locations in England and Scotland over the next 18 months. The amount of CO² saved by the environmentally-friendly lorries will be enough to fill Wembley Stadium.

The vehicles are manufactured by Smith Electric Vehicles, based in the North-East, and are the first ever pure electric vehicles in their class that can compete in performance terms with diesel equivalents and, at the same time, deliver a 100% reduction in CO² emissions and exhaust air pollutants at the point of use. 

Costing just 7p per mile in electricity to run, the 7.5-tonne Newton also represents a significant saving in fuel costs and, as the most powerful electric truck ever built. It is designed to replace diesel trucks that operate exclusively in urban areas, thereby helping improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Powered by four large sodium nickel chloride 278v batteries located underneath the vehicle, each Newton can be fully charged from flat in approximately eight hours, using a standard three-phase industrial electricity supply which is common to any commercial premises. The Newton also provides additional environmental features such as fully recyclable, ultra light body panels manufactured by Omnia. This reduces the body weight and increases the payload capacity to 2,000kg for the TNT vehicles.
 
Tom Bell, Managing Director, TNT Express Services UK & Ireland, added: "We are living in times of great change and the launch of this fleet represents a critical component in what we are striving for - to make TNT the first zero emissions express and mail company.

"Global warming is the biggest issue the world is now facing. As a transportation company TNT contributes to this problem, which is why we are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. State-of-the-art electric vehicles are a great alternative to those that use fossil fuels, especially in urban areas."

The new fleet further consolidates TNT's position at the head of the 'green league' in the transportation sector. In 2008, TNT topped the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index achieving an overall rating of 91 out of a possible 100 - the highest recorded score of any company on the DJSI. The feat was all the more remarkable given the nature of TNT's business. 

The achievement followed the launch in 2007 of TNT's global environmental programme - Planet me. It seeks to engage with the company's 161,000 employees worldwide - their families and friends, as well as contractors and suppliers - to substantially decrease their carbon footprint both at work and at home. TNT in the UK already derives up to 25% of its energy requirements from renewable sources and is keen to increase these levels in future.

Tom added: "This is a huge step forward for our fleet in both environmental as well as economical terms.

"On average it costs just £40-a-week to power a zero emission vehicle as opposed to around £200 spent on diesel fuel. The electric vehicles are also exempt from the London congestion charge - approximately £1,750 a year - and do not incur road tax in the UK. It's a clear win-win situation and one that we hope others will follow."