Another trial by SPAR Austria is underway to test the suitability of small electric vans for supply to INTERSPAR Hypermarkets located within inner cities.

The vehicles are very quiet, operate without CO₂ emissions and have a reach of 200km per load, making them an ideal solution for city centre deliveries. SPAR Austria is one of six companies partnering in a research project ‘Low Emission Electric Fright Fleet’ (LEEFF) to test 10 electric vehicles for both practicality and suitability. The project has been funded by the Climate and Energy Fund as part of the tender “Lighthouses of electromobility”.

Different applications are being tested during this pilot phase including the needs of an INTERSPAR Hypermarket that sources goods from a nearby logistics hub. “We have set ourselves the goal of converting INTERSPAR logistics to renewable energy by 2050 at the latest. Today, we are testing the driving technology of the future and are gathering empirical data on how we can integrate these new vehicles into our existing processes,” said Markus Kaser, Managing Director, INTERSPAR Austria.

The Maxus EV80 from SAIC is equipped with a 92kW electric motor and a 56kWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery. The vehicle is stationed in the SIMPEX warehouse in Vienna and supplies the INTERSPAR Hypermarkets in Vienna several times a day. The required electricity originates solely from renewable energy sources. SPAR Austria continuously transmits data to the project management of i-LOG Integrated Logistics for comparison with other test vehicles and for the optimisation of fleet management.

Source: SPAR Austria

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About SPAR Austria

The origins of SPAR in Austria date back to 1954 and the current SPAR AG was created in 1970, when the original founding families joined with other regional wholesalers to form SPAR Austria AG – a 100% privately owned Austrian company. SPAR Austria’s gross retail sales growth reached 6.7 billion euro in 2017 from 1,566 stores including 757 operated by independent retailers. SPAR Austria is the largest private training organisation for young apprentices in their market.