DHL to debut zero-emission electric delivery vans in U.S. cities
25/11/2019 20:36
By Lisa Baertlein
LOS ANGELES, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Deutsche Post DHL Group's
DPWGn.DE StreetScooter electric vehicle unit will enter the
U.S. market next year as delivery firms and municipalities work
to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
DHL will debut StreetScooter's zero-emission Work L delivery
van in two urban U.S. markets, one on each coast, starting in
Spring 2020, the companies said. They did not specify which
markets would be the first.
Full deployment could come in 2022 and 2023, said Ulrich
Stuhec, StreetScooter's chief technology officer, who joined the
company from Ford Motor Co F.N in October.
Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Tokyo and 30 other cities
around the globe have been working to establish zero-emission
zones by 2030. Those cities hope to curb accumulating greenhouse
gases that contribute to extreme weather, higher temperatures
and rising sea levels, which have steep economic, environmental
and human costs.
The transportation industry - which includes fossil
fuel-burning ships, trains, trucks and planes - accounted for
14% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010, according to the
United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
Over the last three years, DHL has kicked off "CO2-free last
mile delivery" efforts with German cities like Berlin, Hamburg
and Munich.
Roughly 10,000 of the 12,000 StreetScooter electric vehicles
on the road make DHL deliveries. They operate in Amsterdam,
Vienna and cities around Germany - saving roughly 36,000 metric
tons of CO2 per truck each year, StreetScooter said.
"We have the most experience on the road while others are
still working on their first prototypes," StreetScooter's Stuhec
said in a recent interview.
Up-and-coming delivery competitor Amazon.com Inc AMZN.O in
September gave the electric vehicle industry a jolt with its
plan to order 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian
Automotive LLC, a company it funds. The first vans should hit
streets in 2021. Meanwhile, Amazon said its delivery partners
are using around 200 electric vehicles.
United Parcel Service Inc UPS.N has 1,000 electric and
hybrid electric vehicles in its fleet, and FedEx Corp FDX.N
last year announced plans to deploy 1,000 electric vehicles in
California.
DHL fully acquired StreetScooter in 2014. The unprofitable
subsidiary is seeking new investors and customers to further
ramp production. Current partners include the United Kingdom's
Milk & More, which ordered 200 trucks, and Japanese delivery
firm Yamato, which has started to deploy 500 planned vehicles.
In September, StreetScooter cracked the world's biggest
electric vehicle market - signing a memorandum of understanding
with Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile Co CHERY.UL to begin
electric van production in 2021.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by David
Gregorio)
((lisa.baertlein@thomsonreuters.com; +1 213 955 6742; Reuters
Messaging: lisa.baertlein.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))