AO invests over £2m in improving capacity and sustainability of its fleet

Electrical retailer has invested more than £2 million in ‘improving the capacity of its fleet, while reducing carbon emissions’.

AO has purchased an additional 10 tractor units running on compressed natural gas (CNG), doubling the size of its CNG fleet. The retailer initially purchased 10 CNG tractor units in 2022 and has set a target of having 90% of its vehicles running on CNG by 2030.

This switch from diesel to CNG, according to AO, will enable a reduction of up to 85% in CO₂ emissions.

Additionally, AO has acquired 20 longer moving deck double deck semi-trailers (LSTs) to couple with the tractor units. These LSTs are 2.05m longer than AO’s existing standard trailers, allowing for a 10% increase in capacity.

With these trailers, appliances can be double-stacked on both lower and upper decks; they can also be loaded four products wide if required.

Double-stacking goods can significantly increase capacity and reduce the number of journeys that need to be made to transport a certain volume of products. This can lead to cost and emissions savings.

In August 2023, Nestlé and Tesco launched a double-stacked rail freight trial. Click here to read more about it.

David Ashwell, group logistics director at AO, said: “We are proud to be continuing our move to a more sustainable future that will hopefully see 90% of our fleet running on CNG by 2030.

“These tractor units and the new LSTs allow us to reduce our carbon footprint and save on costs. Crucially it significantly increases our capacity, which enables us to deliver even better service to our customers.”