With a pilot using electric vehicles (EVs) DHL Express is extending its ‘City Hub’ concept for environmentally friendly inner city deliveries in The Hague in the Netherlands.

DHL will be using the company’s StreetScooter delivery van that DHL builds itself in Germany. This will be the first deployment of the EV in the Deutsche Post DHL delivery network.

DHL has been testing out the City Hub delivery vehicle concept in Utrecht and in Frankfurt to date. Up until now the delivery company has been using the ‘Cubicycle’, a cargo bike that has a capacity of up to 125kg that has a trailer with up to four containers. The concept has it that a DHL van brings containers of parcels into a city centre and the Cubicycle bikes distribute the parcels to their destinations.

The Hague project will see the Ford / DHL StreetScooter van and an a Nissan e-NV200 for the last mile delivery, while 7.5 tonne trucks will carry the 125kg containers into the city centre.

“As one step on our longer-term journey to reduce emissions to zero by 2050, Deutsche Post DHL Group has set a target of operating 70% of first- and last-mile delivery services with clean transport modes by 2025. The City Hub concept is one innovative way in which DHL Express is contributing towards this target,” said John Pearson, CEO, DHL Express Europe.

“With its simple use of standardized containers, the City Hub is a flexible solution that will allow us to introduce more electric vehicles, bicycles and even walking couriers on inner-city routes. This, in turn, will give us an even sharper competitive advantage as more and more cities around the world focus on promoting sustainable transport systems and competition intensifies among delivery companies over the last-mile.”
 
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