Kicking off its national electric vehicle rollout, DHL has begun operation of a 14-strong fleet of new Renault ZE Master vans across London. The vans will operate from DHL’s Docklands depot and will serve central London.
Vehicles will be recharged overnight, providing a range of 75 miles. To further develop its electric vehicle infrastructure, DHL has continued to upgrade its existing premises with charging facilities and all new depots will be built with future EV adoption in mind.
Vice president of operations at DHL Parcel, Scott Laird, said, “Bringing down emissions from commercial vehicles is crucial if we want to make a difference to air quality and the environment. The launch of these vehicles in London is an important step towards our target of zero logistics-related carbon emissions by 2050. Recent enhancements in battery life and load capacity have made the use of electric vehicles in urban areas a reality and we’re committed to extending the rollout in other parts of the country.”
DHL stated that it would continue to invest in the latest vehicles and infrastructure to ensure that, in future, its electric fleet could also serve more rural regions of the UK.