CO2 balance: Package industry is increasingly relying on electric transporters

The logistician DHL wants to significantly increase the number of his electrical transporters in Germany. “At the moment there are around 32,400 and around 37,000 at the end of the year,” said DHL head Nikola Hagleitner, responsible for the post & package of Germany, in Bonn. Almost two years ago, it was only around 24,000 electricity. “With our investments in electromobility, we make climate protection ahead quickly,” says Hagleitner. You want to stay a pioneer.

The competition also relies more on electrical, but is significantly behind market leader DHL: Hermes according to its own statements currently have 1,200 electrical transporters in use, DPD 300. Both companies want to buy more electricity for the “last” mile, i.e. for the route until the route Delivery. Competitors GLS are also increasingly relating to electric vehicles. In addition, the package industry is still sending electrically operated cargobics onto the street.

Competition is far back

DHL currently has around 67,600 transporters for parcel delivery in Germany, so the electrical share is 48 percent. At Hermes, the proportion of electrical transporters is 11.4 percent, with increasing trend. Hermes says that they want to make a contribution to the decarbonization of the transport sector. With DPD, the electrical share in the van fleet is only 3.5 percent, but there too it should go uphill. At the end of the year it should be 15 percent and 85 percent in 2030.

A DPD spokesman points out that electrical transporters are now produced as standard and that they are less prone to errors than other alternative drives. “We have also tested vehicles with hydrogen drive, but their reliability has so far not been able to keep up with that of electric vehicles.”

One reason for DHL’s lead is that the group and its subsidiary StreetScooter once built an electrical transporter himself. But the showcase project of the past decade stalled, and its own production was discontinued in 2022. Although DHL still has many street scooters in its van fleet, the group now also buys from larger manufacturers, for example from Ford.

“Zero emissions” issued as the goal

When is the delivery completely electrical? “We would like to continuously electrify our delivery fleet and as an intermediate step on the way to zero emissions, we have given the goal of switching 80 to 90 percent to electric drive by 2030,” says DHL manager Hagleitner. But you have to keep an eye on the costs. “We can only invest as much as we earn in the postal and package business in Germany.” In the case of investments, you have to weigh up between capacity expansion, climate protection and improvements for employees.

The Stromer are used in the area of ​​delivery, i.e. on the route from the delivery depot to the delivery of the shipment – whether at the front door, at a parcel machine or a post office, where the recipient comes later and picks up the shipment. They usually have to master between 20 to 30 kilometers per day – the range on the last mile is relatively low, which makes the electricity particularly suitable.

Electric trucks are tested

This year, DHL separates 10 electric trucks this year, which should cover a distance of 250 to 500 kilometers per trip. In Berlin and the surrounding area there are already 13 electric trucks, which are smaller and have a shorter range. Another electric truck drives in regional transport in Hamburg. According to Hagleitner, the electrification of the longer routes is much more difficult than on the last mile to the customer, after all, much larger and heavier amounts are to be transported.

Sufficient charging points to quickly charge the large batteries are a challenge. If the larger electric cars prove to be suitable, more could be purchased and the CO2 record on the long distances could be significantly reduced, Hagleitner said. But it also points out that the electrical trucks are “significantly more expensive”.

Biogas truck on the wide distances

DHL is currently on trucks on the long distances in Germany that are operated with compressed biogas (organic CNG), currently around 450 are used. “This year we want to increase the CNG fleet by 120,” says Hagleitner.

These trucks have a combustion engine. Your organic CNG is obtained from waste and residues. “When the fuel is burned in the truck engine, only as much CO2 is released as was previously taken from the environment when producing the fuel,” says Hagleitner. “With the exclusive use of bio-CNG from waste and residues, CO2-reduced transport is possible.” The CNG trucks have a range of 500 to 700 kilometers.

Environmentalists are not completely convinced

Environmentalists evaluate the attractive electromobility in the package industry, but are skeptical. “Even if electric transporters are better for the climate, the package masses remain problematic – they are part of our throw -away society that wastes resources,” says Viola Wohlgemuth from the Exit Plastic Alliance.

Due to the increasing electrical share in the package industry, consumers should not get the feeling that their online orders are completely unproblematic, because resources and energy stuck in every product for production. “Fewer orders and long use of products are a key to contain the waste of resources.”