apetito Drives into the Future with new ground-breaking EV Fleet

In an ‘industry-first’ for the development and mobilisation of refrigerated electric vehicles (EVs), that can sustain frozen food temperatures for extended periods, leading meals producer, apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods has announced a massive £14.3m investment into reducing carbon emissions of its Wiltshire Farm Foods distribution fleet.

The aim of the investment is to support apetito’s ambitious carbon reduction targets, through the conversion of 75% of its entire Wiltshire Farm Foods delivery fleet to EVs.

The company’s commitment to electrifying its fleet has included a fast roll out with immediate mobilisation of the new EVs. Already Wiltshire Farm Foods has seen over 135 brand-new refrigerated EVs delivered since May 2024, with 240 vans scheduled to be on the road by end 2025.

The change will save an impressive 1,102 tonnes of CO2e per year from the business’s current scope 1 emissions of 9,000co2e, making a real difference in apetito’s journey to achieve its Net Zero targets.

As the biggest procurer of frozen vehicles in the UK, Wiltshire Farm Foods is unique. Most other companies use ambient – or a split of ambient and frozen. No other company has adopted a frozen fleet which is electric, making this a market-leading initiative that is set to signpost the industry towards the future.

Lee Sheppard, Director of Corporate Affairs, Policy & Sustainability for apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods says:

“Whilst EVs are now commonplace on the road, our journey has been complex due to the need for our fleet to be able to sustain freezer temperature for extended periods to ensure our meals are retained and delivered at the right temperature.

At the onset, the suppliers we original spoke to all said that it “couldn’t be done”.  However, working with our chosen partner, Pro-Hire, we spent many months researching, developing, and trialling new technologies and today marks an important milestone in that journey as we see our new fleet out on the road.

As part of this new technology, many of our vans have the unique features to extend power draw including the addition of solar panels to enable them to generate more power whilst the vans are in motion.

We’re immensely proud of the fact that we have successfully made this important Net Zero initiative happen, and also of the speed at which we are mobilising the new fleet, which leads the industry in the delivery of frozen food products”.

Pat Skelly, CEO of Pro-Hire which partnered with apetito in developing the technology explains that small changes make a big difference when it comes to generating power:

“We reviewed every single component of the EV’s to leverage the power opportunity.  For example, we added a 12.5volt battery which operates from inside the cab to protect the main battery. We did everything we could to add more power through solar panels, curtains on the back of the van (to prevent sunshine creating warmth), and made sure floor covering is super-smooth to ensure boxes can be pulled out quicker.  We’ve decreased the door size to ensure cold is kept in and we’re searching for vehicle improvements all the time.

This series of micro-improvements have improved the macro picture and everything that can be done – has been done!  We have a strong relationship with apetito and are absolutely delighted that together we have been able to ‘deliver the goods’.”