As pollution from online shopping grows, London funds a solution

London

LONDON's delivery companies are experimenting with electric vehicles to curb the smog spewed by vans distributing parcels packed with goods purchased on the Internet.

The UK capital's transport authority is catalysing the transition from diesel to battery-powered vehicles by funding Gnewt Cargo Ltd, which operates London's largest all-electric delivery fleet. Gnewt is part-owned by DX Group Ltd, counting TNT Express NV and Hermes Parcelnet Ltd among its customers.

With their emissions-free electric motors silently navigating 20,000 packages a day through London streets, Gnewt could also deliver a breath of fresh air to Europe's biggest city. The government says London's pollution levels will probably breach European Union (EU) limits until at least 2030, a problem the Royal College of Physicians estimates causes 40,000 …