DHL Express is to add 320 more electric vehicles to its UK fleet by the end of 2022, supporting plans for 100% of the fleet to be electric by 2030.
The express delivery service provider initially started to roll out EVs on its UK fleet back in 2019 with a consignment of Renault Master Z.E vans in London. It’s now added a further 50 new electric vans. These will be joined by an additional 50 EVs by the end of the year and 220 more in its UK-wide fleet before the end of 2022 – the intention is that every new courier vehicle purchased from now on will be electric.
The vans will be deployed across the country this year, in cities including Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham, ensuring the benefits of electrification extend beyond the capital.
The new EVs will help further work towards Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Mission 2050 target of zero logistics-related emissions – the group plans to have more than 80,000 e-vehicles on the road and 60% of last mile delivery electrified by 2030 and recently announced a €7bn (£6bn) investment to support this.
In addition to the vans, DHL is also investing in electric charging infrastructure at over 20 sites – using a scalable approach to enable the fleet to be expanded in the future.
Richard Crook, director of fleet at DHL Express, said: “We’re delighted to be able to announce the next step in our electrification journey with these new best-in-class vehicles.
Both our vehicle and as importantly our driver training roll-out plans are now picking up speed as we start to electrify our fleet across the UK.
“By the end of the year we will have deployed more than 100 additional electric vehicles into our business with a continued and accelerating roadmap towards achieving our Go Green targets.
“Many of the UK’s major cities are working hard to reduce emissions and improve air quality and we plan to play a major part in supporting this.
“Long-term we’re also investing in charging infrastructure so we can continue to expand our green fleet.”
