The climate balance is getting better
The parcel industry is sending more electric vans onto the roads
November 12, 2023, 9:59 a.m
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Online orders and climate protection have so far mostly been mutually exclusive. The goods are transported – partially or completely – in combustion engine vehicles. The parcel industry is therefore increasingly relying on electric vehicles. For environmentalists, however, this is only the first step.
Germany’s parcel industry is making progress on its electric path, which is intended to reduce CO₂ emissions. When asked, the market leader DHL announced that it now has more than 25,000 electrically powered vans in its Post & Parcel Germany division. That is 5,000 more than a year and a half ago and 15,000 more than four years ago. The numbers refer to the “last mile”, i.e. the distance to the household or collection machine. DHL uses 60,800 vans there, so the electric share is around 41 percent. This is by far the highest value among parcel service providers operating in Germany.
DHL’s competitors also use more electric vehicles than before, but they remain far behind the industry leader. This is also because Deutsche Post DHL got started early and manufactured its own electric vehicles under the Streetscooter brand for years. But the Bonn headquarters never really warmed up to the Aachen subsidiary – vehicle production was very far removed from DHL’s core business, logistics. Almost two years ago, the headquarters pulled the ripcord and sold street scooters.
The successor company has not been a success story so far; it filed for bankruptcy in September. DHL continued to purchase street scooters from them, but the vehicle manufacturer had delivery problems and provided DHL with fewer electric vehicles than the logistics company wanted. Therefore, the people of Bonn gradually switched over and also ordered electric vehicles from other manufacturers.
Competitors are gradually making progress
For a long time, DHL was so far ahead when it came to electrification that the competition was barely visible in the rearview mirror. This was also a problem for competitors with their dominance of combustion engines because it allowed the Bonn Post Group to develop an image as a relatively climate-friendly and sustainable parcel supplier. This should help DHL to score points with companies and consumers. Meanwhile, competitors are also picking up speed in the electrification of the last mile. GLS has 650 electric vehicles on Germany’s roads, three times as many as two years ago. By the end of the year there should be 900.
DPD also wants to increase the proportion of electric vehicles, but the company does not give a number. The proportion of electric vehicles in DPD’s overall fleet is in the single-digit percentage range. At GLS it is ten percent. At the beginning of 2021, Hermes only had 190 electric vans in its fleet, but according to the company there are now 720. A percentage is not given.
The pace is expected to pick up in the coming years. Hermes reports that the company wants to deliver exclusively electrically in 80 inner city areas by the end of 2025 and therefore without local CO₂ emissions. Like other companies, Hermes not only relies on electric vans, but also on e-cargo bikes.
DHL reduces investments
The postal company DHL actually wanted to be further ahead. But the company has recently reduced its investments in new building technology and modern vehicles. On the one hand, this was because DHL failed in its application to the Federal Network Agency for higher letter postage and therefore cannot plan for additional income. In addition, a reform of the outdated postal law is still a long time coming – given this regulatory uncertainty, management is exercising restraint. “Even with other investments – vehicles and so on – we cannot continue to invest as we would like,” said DHL boss Tobias Meyer.
While the share of electric vehicles in the last mile is increasing across the industry, progress in the other sections of parcel transport is still clear. The transport of shipments by rail only plays a minor role and on the highways the parcels are mostly transported in trucks with diesel engines. This is also because the supply of suitable heavy trucks with other types of drive is still limited. “There is simply still a lack of reliable and scalable alternatives in long-distance transport,” says a GLS spokesman. The company has four LNG trucks and one hydrogen truck in its fleet for long-haul routes.
There are now 222 biogas trucks on the road for DHL in the Post & Parcel Germany division – i.e. the core business with letters and parcels – and there should be 360 by the end of the year. The trucks are used both in regional transport – where large quantities of parcels are picked up from branches and taken to parcel centers – and on long-haul routes – the “main route” – i.e. on motorways. There are also 13 electric trucks in Berlin that operate in regional traffic and are not suitable for the main route. Hermes has had two electric trucks in use since autumn 2022, one at a Hamburg logistics center and one in Berlin.
And what do environmentalists say about the electric plus in the parcel industry? There isn’t too much enthusiasm. They find it positive that less CO₂ is released than with combustion vans. However, they are critical of the increasing parcel volumes and thus also the increased transport volume, as these are a symptom of the throwaway society. Greenpeace advocates for more sustainable consumption by ordering fewer products.