Delivery company DPD France has expanded its low emissions fleet by adding six new natural gas vehicles (NGVs) to its fleet in Aix-en-Provence and Bordeaux. The company has already added NGVs to its fleets in Grenoble, Lyon and Strasbourg earlier this year.

In a statement issued on Wednesday (13 April), the company said: “As part of its national urban logistics system, DPD France has put in place a sustainable delivery programme for 2016 that is structured around 15 major cities, serving 40 city centres.

“For this programme, DPD France has chosen to use NGVs, which have significantly reduced emissions of both fine particles and CO2 . NGVs also appear to be better suited to the activity of DPD France than electric vehicles, as they have greater carrying capacity

“DPD vehicles using CNG are already on the road in the cities of Lyon, Grenoble, Rouen, Toulouse and Strasbourg with a total of 20 vehicles to date, including those just deployed in Aix-en-Provence and Bordeaux.”

Virginie Lequy, Operational Process Manager in charge of steering Urban Logistics  Joint Priority Project (JPPs) at DPD France, said: “Our current fleet of NGVs will continue to grow in the coming months. This growth is now possible because the authorities are paying more attention to this new alternative, especially after presentation of our delivery projects for the very heart of city centres using this technology. We see this as a very positive opportunity, and one that complements existing electric solutions.”

Additional vehicles are already planned for Toulouse, Grenoble and Lyon. In 2016, DPD France will also provide green delivery to the city centres of Lille, Valenciennes, Metz, Limoges, Clermont-Ferrand, Saint-Etienne, Nantes, Annecy, Annemasse, Chambery, Valence, Avignon and Nice.

NGVs while still emitting greenhouse gases are seen as a much greener alternative to liquid fossil fuel powered vehicles, yet have a greater range and power than electric vehicles (EVs)