Royal Mail has been testing the new London Black Cab as a post van in order to reduce emissions.
If the trial goes to plan then the Royal Mail will have the cabs redesigned for the purpose of delivering mail for the future.
The experiment will take place in Birmingham with Leeds, Derby Edinburgh and Bristol to follow.
The vehicle weighing in at 2.9 tonnes is quite similar to the current Vauxhall Vivaro, however the increase size of the Vauxhall and uncapped battery life will be part of the decision making.
The new electric postal van/cab will be charged at local post offices for now.
It is expected that the battery will last the required typical postal route, however there is also the ability to extend the distance for more rural destinations.
There are already 295 electric postal vans across the UK, which may come as a surprise, and this new fleet will not be replacements, but additions.
Paul Gatti, fleet director at the Royal Mail, said: “As a company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact whilst ensuring we continue to meet customer expectations.”
