DHL buys 44 electric Volvo trucks

12 May 2022

DHL's EV adoption dates back to 2014 when it bought Streetscooter, a German company that developed and manufactured electric vans. The Streetscooter went through some turbulent times and only recently was sold to Odin Automotive but not before delivering an estimated 21,500 electric vans to DHL.

With the last mile delivery operated by electric vans, DHL decided to extend the electrification of its fleet to larger vehicles and it has been testing Volvo trucks since 2021. The results must have gone well, because DHL just ordered 44 all-electric Volvo trucks.

This clearly shows that electrification makes sense for hauliers as much as it does for non commercial use. The order will be mostly made up of two Volvo models - the FE and FL. Volvo FE is a 16 tonne truck that can have up to 300kWh battery giving it a range of 300km (186 miles) - that is an amazing efficiency for basically a giant box on wheels hauling 16 tonnes of load.

DHL also booked a few Volvo FM trucks - those are much larger, 44 tonne trucks that will come with up to 540kWh batteries allowing it probably the same range as the small Volvo FE but carrying almost three times the load at the same time. It is amazing news, seeing companies like DHL joining Amazon and FedEx (who recently managed to secure a World Record for electric van) in fleet electrification.

For these companies environment issues come second, despite them saying otherwise. There is no denying that the bottom line for any business is very important and if saving the environment doesn’t make financial sense - it’ll be a hard sell. Clearly in this case the bottom line is happy - 44 trucks is not a small order, the trucks will need new infrastructure and support so the investment doesn’t just involve buying the vehicles. It must make a lot of sense for DHL to go this way.

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