• Purolator will invest $1 billion CAD to electrify its fleet.
• Over the next seven years, the company will purchase 3,500 new electric vehicles.
• In 2023 alone, $100 million will be invested to buy the first models, among other steps.
• Ford's Transit vans and General Motors' BrightDrop vehicles will be tweo of the models purchased.
Purolator, the Canadian parcel delivery and logistics giant largely owned by Canada Post, said yesterday it plans to invest about $1 billion CAD over the next seven years to electrify its fleet. This will include the purchase of more than 3,500 all-electric vehicles.
Purolator's investment in sustainability, including the electrification of 60 percent of its fleet, is expected to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the equivalent of 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2030.
It is also the largest investment in its network in Purolator's history, with more than $100 million coming down the pipeline in 2023 alone.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has promised investments to rival the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA provides $369 billion in incentives for consumers and businesses to make the transition to a low-carbon economy. The Canadian government's goal is to encourage Canadian businesses to build a clean economy in Canada.
The electrification of Purolator's fleet will begin with the deployment of 25 Ford E-Transit vans in London, Ontario, in Richmond, BC and in Quebec City.
Purolator plans to add more than 100 fully electric vehicles to its fleet this year and another 150 by 2024. The family of vehicles will include the Ford Transit, Motiv Power Systems EPIC4 and BrightDrop Zevo 600.
Purolator, which is aiming to electrify more than 60 depots across Canada, also plans to cut down its emissions from electricity through the use of renewable energy sources and by diverting more than 70 percent of its waste from landfill.
As it happens, these announcements come 18 years after the company's first steps toward electrification. In 2005, the company had integrated 500 hybrid vehicles into its fleet.