DHL orders large fleet of electric trucks from Volvo

DHL, the logistics giant, announced a deal with Volvo Trucks to cooperate on accelerating the electrification of its operations – starting with ordering a large fleet of electric trucks.

DHL has been early among the big logistics companies to realize the potential of electrification in helping its business.

The company quickly realized that converting its fleet to electric vehicles would save a lot of money in gas savings and maintenance – on top of the environmental benefits, of course.

It was so convinced that electrification was the way to go that it bought an EV company, Streetscooter, back in 2014 and ramped up its operations – mainly to supply electric vehicles for its own delivery fleet.

Streetscooter has produced tens of thousands of electric vehicles for DHL, but the logistics giant recently sold the company to a new group called Odin Automotive.

Now DHL has turned to other suppliers for electric vehicles, especially larger electric trucks.

Today, DHL announced a new deal with Volvo to work together on electrification and start with a order of 44 Volvo electric trucks:

Volvo Trucks and Deutsche Post DHL Group have signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate the shift to zero exhaust emission vehicles. DHL intends to intensify its transition to heavy electric trucks by deploying a total of 44 new electric Volvo trucks on routes in Europe.

DHL has been testing Volvo’s electric trucks since back in early 2021, but it is now finally ready to start building a fleet.

Pablo Ciano, executive vice president for corporate development at Deutsche Post DHL Group, commented:

We are committed to meet growing customer demand for green and sustainable solutions and achieve our long-term goal of net zero emissions by 2050. As a logistics service provider, the conversion of our vehicle fleet is an important lever to help us avoid CO2 emissions on the road as well. Several of our divisions will thus benefit from this agreement with Volvo Trucks.

The order is going to be made primarily of Volvo FE and FL. The Volvo FL Electric is a 16-tonne truck that can be configured with different battery packs for a capacity between 100 and 300 kWh enabling a range of up to 300 km (186 miles). The FE is a little bigger and higher capacity.

Finally, the order also includes four Volvo FM Electric trucks for use in regional hauling in the UK.

The Volvo FM Electric is an up to 44 tonnes GCW truck with bigger battery pack options between 180–540 kWh.

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