Mars and the food retailer REWE are electrifying an entire end-to-end pilot corridor, with products from Mars’ snacks, pet food, and groceries divisions transported on defined routes.
Previously, both companies had only electrified their own regional sections of the route.
Specifically, Mars products are transported from the chocolate factories in Veghel (Netherlands), Viersen (North Rhine-Westphalia), and the Pet Nutrition factory in Verden, via the Mars logistics center in Minden, to the REWE central warehouse in Oranienburg.
Starting with the initial pilot route, the joint network currently operates 23 battery-electric trucks from Mars and 24 vehicles from REWE.
In total, over 2.4 million electric kilometers are covered, around 750,000 liters of diesel are saved, and nearly 2,600 tons of CO₂e (well-to-wheel) are avoided.
REWE also prefer the electric vehicles as they operate quietly, enabling expanded delivery times in urban areas (such as Berlin) particularly late at night or early in the morning.
For Mars and REWE, the pilot project confirms that electric heavy-duty transport along the entire supply chain is ecologically sound, operationally well-integrated, and economically viable.
REWE Group executive director logistics/SCM, Lars Siebel, said: ‘Our message to all freight forwarders and truck fleet operators is to carefully calculate the business viability of switching to e-mobility.
“Given the geopolitical uncertainties, diesel price volatility will remain high. In comparison, electricity prices are stable and are expected to become cheaper in the future.
“Even today, more than half of all routes in our network are cheaper to operate and maintain with an electric truck than with a combustion engine.
“Optimised route planning can further increase this cost advantage, allowing the higher initial investment in electric trucks to be recouped more quickly.”
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