Loblaw Orders 25 Tesla All-Electric Semis

Loblaw is electrifying its fleet of transportation vehicles with a batch of Tesla Semis, the company’s recently unveiled battery-powered truck.

The Canadian grocery chain said it pre-ordered 25 of Tesla’s trucks on Friday, according to the Canadian Press.

Each Semi requires a $5,000 USD reservation fee upfront, although the total price of the trucks has yet to be disclosed. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he expects the first Semis to enter production sometime in 2019.

Two weeks ago, Loblaw announced its commitment to swap its corporately-owned diesel trucks for zero-emission vehicles, part of its larger goal of slashing the company’s carbon footprint by 2030. It revealed its first 53-foot all-electric delivery truck, manufactured by China’s BYD.

“As one of Canada’s largest energy users, given the size and scope of our retail network and supply chain, we know we have a critical role to play in helping Canada reach its carbon reduction targets,” said Rob Wiebe, Loblaw’s executive VP of supply chain in a statement.

The grocery giant said removing diesel from both transport trucks and refrigerated trailers could cut down annual carbon emissions by 94,000 tonnes—the equivalent of removing more than 20,000 cars from the road.

Loblaw’s vision is to reduce emissions from electricity use by 35 per cent, transportation by 25 per cent, and refrigerants by 50 per cent. Tesla is helping Loblaw meet that goal with its 10-ton electric trucks.

A Tesla Semi is guaranteed to last one million miles, travel 500 miles per charge and accelerate from zero to 60 miles an hour in five seconds. While the company won’t reveal the cost of a Semi just yet, it had no issue sharing how much owners could save on fuel. Tesla said each Semi could save about $200,000 USD annually on diesel.

Loblaw wasn’t the only supermarket company among the first purchasers of the heavy-duty electric vehicle. Walmart pre-ordered 15 Semis—including 10 for its Canadian routes—for a pilot test.