DHL invests 10 million in electric and residential transport

DHL eCommerce is investing 10 million euros in residential-friendly delivery with the purchase of 400 smaller vans, including 100 electric ones. After a successful pilot, DHL will now deploy 100 fully electric vans in more than fifty Dutch cities. This so-called StreetScooter has a loading space of 4 cubic meters and the van is produced by the group itself in Aachen. DHL eCommerce, with its fleet of smaller vans, has the optimal configuration for the delivery of e-commerce shipments in residential areas, where other carriers typically drive larger vans. In addition, DHL also uses bicycle couriers in inner-city areas. By 2025 at the latest, 70% of these deliveries must be emission-free.

StreetScooter: electric van from our own factory

Car manufacturer StreetScooter started in 2010 as a spin-off of the Technischen Hochschule Aachen. In 2014, the Deutsche Post DHL Group bought the company because StreetScooter still provides the most optimal concept of what is available in the market in the field of electric vehicles for logistics. The production capacity will be used to green the Fleet of Deutsche Post DHL. In the Netherlands, the Streetscooters can be seen from this spring in the towns of Alkmaar, Almere, Amsterdam, Amersfoort, The Hague, Eindhoven, Groningen, Maastricht, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Tiel, Utrecht and Zoetermeer. Later in the year, cities such as Apeldoorn, Nijmegen and Wageningen will be added. The Streetscooter will thus be shown in the residential areas of more than fifty places in the country.

Technical specifications StreetScooter

With a maximum speed of 80 km/h and a range of 80 km, the StreetScooter is ideal for urban distribution. The electrical energy is generated in a 30 kW asynchronous motor that has a peak load of 45 kW. The energy is stored in a lithium-ion battery. The payload is 650 kilograms. The height of the body is such that the delivery person does not have to bend down. The higher body also ensures that no cut-out is needed for the tires. As a result, the cargo space is flat and amounts to more than four cubic meters. The StreetScooter opens on both sides with a sliding door and at the back is a flap that can serve as a shelter in rainy weather. The delivery person can therefore always conveniently and quickly access the packages.

Emission-free in 2050

The purchase of smaller vans with an economical diesel engine or electrically powered is entirely in line with deutsche post DHL's recently tightened environmental objective. At the beginning of March, the logistics service provider announced when announcing the annual figures that it wanted to become the market leader in green transport. The group will have reduced all its logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050. With this ambitious goal, DHL is making a substantial contribution to the goal of the Paris climate conference in 2015 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to keep warming below two degrees Celsius. At the local level, the group focuses on improving people's living and living environment by offering clean transport solutions. By 2025, 70% of deliveries will be emission-free.

Written by

Ewout Blaauw

Director Corporate Communications