The contract, worth more than £9.5m, comprises a fleet of 328 specially adapted Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles, including 318 Sprinter vans with CDI chassis cabs that have a bespoke body designed to accommodate Ocado’s racking requirements, as well as 25 Axor 1835LS tractor units for trunking. In addition, the company has a further 50 Sprinter Vans on order.

Jason Gissing, chief financial officer at Ocado, said: ‘When we first launched the company, we required a fleet of bespoke vehicles which could fulfill the demand for deliveries, but we were unsure about what size of fleet would be required or how quickly the demand would grow. We needed a solution that offered us a fixed cost, which we new could be covered regardless of the growth rate of the business. This approach worked very well during the early stages – and continues to work well for us today, which is the reason we continue to use Mercedes-Benz CharterWay contract hire for our expanding fleet requirements.’

Ocado, in partnership with Waitrose and John Lewis Partnership, currently covers 40% of the UK with its on-line grocery service, serving major towns and cities including London and all all of the South East, Manchester, Rugby and the surrounding area. Its busy fleet can now make up to 30 deliveries per day, six days a week.