Major retailer in South Africa launches full electric fleet

The Clicks Group has officially launched a new all-electric truck fleet at its Montague Gardens distribution centre in Cape Town.

The retailer has acquired 30 new-generation SANY heavy-duty electric trucks, which will be used in its commercial operations in South Africa.

Clicks has also invested more than R65 million in solar photovoltaic generation, battery energy storage, and charging infrastructure to support the adoption of these vehicles.

The company stated that Montague Gardens is set to become the first retail distribution centre in Africa to operate a 100% electric truck fleet, and that this marks the acceleration of its national electrification goals.

Bertina Engelbrecht, CEO of the Clicks Group, said the move to electric transport forms part of the company’s broader investment in its distribution network as Clicks continues to grow.

“As we expand our store and pharmacy network, we continue to strengthen our distribution capabilities to support that growth. This enables us to continue delivering the convenience and product availability our customers expect from Clicks,” she said.

“We started moving towards renewables several years ago because, as an executive team, we see ourselves as stewards for future generations. We believe we have a responsibility to make choices today that reduce our impact on the environment, and we have carried that thinking through into our investments in solar, battery storage and now electric transport.”

The CEO commented that there is a strong business case for going electric, as it reduces their reliance on diesel, thereby lowering their operating costs while also cutting down on their emissions.

“We are investing in the growth of the business, and doing it in a way that also reduces our environmental impact and takes us closer to our ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Engelbrecht.

The company said that the fleet of 30 electric trucks will save them roughly 780,000 litres of diesel and cut around 2,000 tonnes of tailpipe carbon dioxide emissions per year.

This translates to a projected annual fuel savings of between R20 million and R25 million per year. It also expects to save between R2 million and R3 million on reduced maintenance costs, as electric vehicles have less moving parts that need to be repaired and replaced.

The 30 trucks will be deployed around Clicks’ Cape Town and Centurion distribution centres. Montague Gardens will operate a 100% electric fleet by the end of October this year.

The Cape Town fleet will deliver to approximately 290 stores, while the Centurion fleet will serve around 566 stores.

“A smarter, greener and more resilient supply chain is not a future aspiration for Clicks Logistics – it is already a reality,” said Clicks Logistics Executive Pieter Strydom.

“This is another important step in our logistics transformation journey. It is about using technology, data and continuous improvement to drive operational excellence and build a more efficient and resilient supply chain that is fit for the future.”

Clicks aims to have 68 electric trucks by the end of 2027, which translates to 68% of its current fleet. It said this is well ahead of its original target of 30% by the end of 2029.

Regarding the rollout, Clicks said the first 14 trucks will operate from Montague Gardens, and that two diesel trucks will be replaced by the end of October.

Another 14 electric models will be deployed to Centurion on 1 October. The company then plans to expand the rollout to KZN by September 2027.

The current target is to have more than 90% of its fleet be electric by September 2028. Clicks already uses Maxus eDelivery vans for smaller deliveries and plans to add electric bikes to its fleet.

It has spent R41 million on battery storage systems at its centres, which use a combination of solar energy, stored energy, and grid energy to charge the vehicles.

The trucks themselves have a 318kWh battery with a range of between 380km and 400km per charge. Using a DC fast charger, the cells can be topped up from 20% to 80% in just 30 minutes.

They can support a payload of 11.5 tonnes. Each truck is expected to travel around 120,000km per year.

Headline image: Reuben Jordaan, Bongiwe Ntuli, Bertina Engelbrecht, Pieter Strydom & Gustav Schoeman.