Freight and Logistics Giant Backs Electrically Powered Delivery Vehicles

GERMANY – Having started with the concept of an electrified bicycle capable of carrying loads up to 50 kilogrammes around a town or city, StreetScooter GmbH, a subsidiary of freight and logistics giant DHL, has progressed through electric tricycles to its ‘Work’ series which are basically small delivery vans, still reliant on electrical power rather than conventional road fuels.

The popularity however has continued the growth of not just the company but the size of its vehicles and at the IAA Commercial Vehicles trade fair in Hanover which runs 22 – 29 September 2016, StreetScooter will present its latest vehicle to the world, the Work L series. Now really distancing itself from its roots the new model has double the loading capacity of the previous model, with eight cubic metres of loading space to carry as many as 150 parcels.

With a payload of 1 tonne the new truck actually surpasses the carrying capacity of many conventional small vans whilst its new lithium powered motor gives a potential for 100 kilometres between charges. DHL says it plans to put more than 170 StreetScooter Work L vehicles on the road by the end of the year and to use them for joint delivery, the combined delivery of letters and parcels, as well as for parcel shipments alone as part of its ‘carbon-free delivery’ project.

The intention is to demonstrate the potential and possibilities that the Work platform offers. The ‘PRO’ version shows future equipment variations of the Work as well as a media system and a new keyless-entry locking system. Another variant demonstrates the Work's possible applications in the municipal environment. With its distinctive orange colour the ‘Work Orange’ is equipped with an electro-hydraulic three-way dumper, instead of a box body, the standard for postal deliveries.

Photo: The new Work L with (inset) one of the company’s electric tricycles.