StreetScooter electric delivery van extends DHL’s ‘green logistics’ initiative

It’s hard to describe a 20-cubic-meter, four-wheeled van a “scooter,” but such is the new designation of the latest collaboration between Deutsche Post DHL Group (DP-DHL) and Ford Motor Co. Yesterday in Cologne, the two companies unveiled what they are calling the “StreetScooter WORK XL” vehicle, their first jointly produced, battery-operated electric van.

DP-DHL said it will use the e-vans for urban parcel delivery in Germany in another step to reaching its goal to reduce emissions to zero by 2050.

The German integrator said it will work with Ford to build around 150 e-vans at the StreetScooter plant in Aachen in 2017. Together, the companies expect to manufacture 2,500 e-vans by the end of next year, some of which may be sold to third-party customers along with other StreetScooter electric models.

“This joint project will be Europe’s largest manufacturer of emission-free, medium-sized e-vans, and it doesn’t come a moment too soon,” said Steven Armstrong, Ford group vice president and president of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. The WORK XL is estimated to save about five tonnes of carbon dioxide and 1,900 liters of diesel fuel per vehicle, per year.

The e-vans will have more than twice the cargo capacity of DP-DHL’s second-largest e-van, the 8-cubic-meter WORK L. The new XL model has stowage space for more than 200 parcels and a range of between 80 and 200 kilometers per battery charge. The WORK XL can be loaded through both the tailgate and a curbside sliding door, while the load area includes shelves and can be accessed from the cab.

To learn more about future innovations in freight forwarding, air freight and logistics, join us at Air Cargo World’s ELEVATE Conference in Miami, Oct. 2. Click here for registration information.