Anyone who orders online and is serious about climate protection sometimes has a guilty conscience. The goods are often transported in combustion engine vehicles. Stromer should improve the situation.
Germany’s parcel industry has further increased the number of its electric vans. According to its own information, the market leader DHL now has more than 25,000 electric vehicles in use on the so-called last mile – i.e. on the section of the route to the household or pick-up machine. This means that around 41 percent of DHL vans there are electric – by far the highest figure in the industry. DHL has 5,000 more electric vehicles than a year and a half ago and 15,000 more than four years ago.
According to the information, the smaller competitor GLS now has 650 electric vehicles on Germany’s roads, more than three times as many as two years ago. By the end of the year there should be 900. DPD also wants to increase the electric share, but the company did not provide a number upon request. 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 e-vans, but according to the company there are now 720.
In order to make delivery climate-friendly, the industry is relying on electric cars. Environmentalists view the use of electric vehicles as positive. However, they are critical of the increasing parcel volumes and thus also the increased volume of vans, as these are a symptom of the throwaway society. Greenpeace, for example, advocates more sustainable consumption by ordering fewer products.
Given the growing role of online retail, the parcel industry is on a growth path. With the Christmas season, companies are now facing the most labor-intensive period of the year.
Source: Stern
