The Crown Estate hopes that the effort will help to decarbonise logistics for Regent Street retailers. It is partnering with Volta Trucks, which is planning to start producing 16-tonne, full-electric trucks later this year.

The purpose-built Volta Zero has been designed “to be as safe as possible”, the Crown Estate said, with a glasshouse-style cab that maximises driver visibility. Its large 8.6-tonne payload also removes several smaller 3.5-tonne vans from the streets, which helps reduce traffic congestion.

The use of electric vans could also help to cut costs in the long term as they are cheaper to fuel and maintain and are also exempt from paying both the Congestion Charge and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). In October, the ULEZ was expanded to cover an area 18 times larger than before in order to tackle London’s poor air quality.

The Crown Estate’s London portfolio spans 10 million sq ft and comprises of Regent Street and around half of St...