The Salvation Army’s Salvos Stores are the first charity retailer in Australia to have an EV in their distribution fleet, thanks to a donation by SEA Electric.
It will help reduce Salvos Stores’ CO2 emissions by about two tonnes annually.
As part of SEA Electric’s philanthropic activities, The SEA Foundation is presenting the electric truck worth about $50,000 to Noble Park Salvos Store in Victoria on September 18.
“The SEA Foundation was created by the shareholders of SEA Electric, an Australian automotive technology company that has commercialised 100% electric power-system technology for the urban delivery vehicle sector,” SEA Electric group managing director Tony Fairweather says.
“In doing so, we are removing many diesel polluting vans and trucks from around the globe and replacing them with zero emission alternatives.
“Here at SEA Electric we not only want to improve the impact on the environment, but also to improve the lives of those within our community. We’re excited to donate this 100% electric vehicle to the Salvation Army, which will assist them in their future charitable endeavours.”
The EV donation will help Salvos Stores facilitate some last-minute collections.
“The donation of this vehicle will allow us to be more versatile in the way we respond to last minute home collection requests and with the increase in donation volume in the wake of the Marie Kondo craze, it couldn’t have come at a better time,” Salvos Stores operations general manager Neil Lund says in thanking SEA Electric.
Introducing the first EV into its truck fleet is a step to a more sustainable future and a new way of operating a large logistics network, the company says.
Salvos Stores national director Matt Davis says the EV donation is a big step in the right director to reduce Salvo Stores’ environmental impact.
Is that $50k worth of conversion or the total vehicle cost? What sort of range? SEA is doing great work in this part of the market, well done.