DHL Express to add 270 electric vans to its UK fleet this summer

DHL Express is to rollout 270 new electric vans across its UK fleet this summer, as the delivery and logistics giant accelerates its push towards a 100 per cent electric courier fleet by 2030.

Following last year’s introduction of 50 electric vans across the UK, the company yesterday announced that the next phase would demonstrate its “ongoing commitment to reaching its sustainability goals and the successful integration of electric vehicles into the network”.

The 270 new vans are set to enter operation as part of the company’s last-mile fleet between May and September, servicing over 30 different locations, including London, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Bristol, Southampton. Liverpool, Sheffield, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, it said.

The zero emissions Ford E Transits have a range of 140 miles and a payload of approximately 1,000kg, similar to the diesel vans they are replacing. The bodies have been customised for “ease of use for drivers and to ensure continued high service levels”, the company added.

To support its transition to electric vehicles, DHL has also developed ‘scalable’ infrastructure including stand-alone charging points across its service centre network. The company operates 10 fully-integrated EV-ready sites, with an additional three opening this spring and 13 more planned later in 2022.

Richard Crook, director of fleet at DHL Express said: “We’re extremely proud of the progress made so far in reducing the environmental impact of our fleet, and this next stage of roll-out is a positive step towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.”

At a global level, parent company Deutsche Post DHL Group has announced plans to have more than 80,000 EVs on the road and 60 per cent of last mile delivery electrified by 2030.

Last year, some of the UK’s largest fleet operators – including BT, BP, Royal Mail, and Tesco – pledged to purchase tens of thousands of UK-made electric vehicles (EV) over the coming years, in a bid to encourage the government to establish a more supportive policy framework for electric transportation.

The firms, which together form the Electric Vehicle Fleet Accelerator (EVFA) coalition, said they would fully electrify their van fleets by the end of the decade and collectively buy 70,000 British made-vans by “2030 or sooner”.