Wickes has taken delivery of its first batch of two of 16 Scania P320 trucks as it expands its home delivery services for online customers and trade professionals.
Following an agreement involving Wickes, Scania and Novuna Vehicle Solutions, the DIY giant took delivery of the HGVs at Novuna Vehicle Solutions’ Trowbridge site this week.
The Scania vehicles, which feature a brick grab crane, have a payload of approximately nine tonnes will be used to transport DIY and home improvement products to customers throughout the UK in partnership with Wincanton, contracting under Wickes.
Wickes, with 242 stores nationwide and a growing home delivery service operation, has been working with Novuna Vehicle Solutions since 2021 to fund, build and manage its commercial vehicle specifications in order to improve fleet efficiency for the home improvement products retailer.
The agreement to provide vehicle maintenance services, as well as ongoing dedicated in-life account management support for Wickes’ HGV fleet, builds on the existing two-year partnership. Novuna Vehicle Solutions already manage 38 vehicles for the DIY retailer comprising 20 trailers, 10 heavy panel vans, 4 LCVs and 4 HGVs.
Novuna, which has an operating fleet of over 108,000 vehicles in the UK which includes 8,000 HGVs, worked in collaboration with leading Scania dealer, West Pennine Trucks Limited, to custom design and build the new vehicles for Wickes, focussing on safety and driver comfort.
As part of the agreement, Novuna Vehicle Solutions also partnered with Scania to deliver training to transport and safety stakeholders, educating them on the features, fuel economy and crane operation, providing training that can be passed to drivers ahead of using the vehicles for the first time.
Jon Lawes, managing director at Novuna Vehicle Solutions, said: “We’re delighted to continue fostering our relationship with Wickes, helping them to fulfil their home delivery service to thousands of customers across the UK by demonstrating our expertise as a total asset solution mobility partner.
“As they work towards achieving their decarbonisation targets and future proof their fleet, we’re looking forward to building on our partnership, supporting their transition to electrification and alternative fuels.”
Mark Wheeler, national transport and compliance manager at Wickes, added: “The partnership between Novuna is fairly new, but a very strong one. Novuna not only supports the Wickes commercial fleet leasing but also our consumer credit offering for big ticket items such as Kitchens and Bathrooms. Wickes has committed to reducing its scope one emissions by 40% and set a target of 2030 to reach this reduction.
“With changes to legislation, Wickes are at the beginning of a journey towards electrification of commercial fleet and see partnerships such as the Wickes and Novuna one, a key to any future decision making.”
