TNT and 30 other partners of the Dutch Consortium for the Tender of Electric Cars (DC-TEC) havesigned a unique agreement to collectively purchase 3,000 electric vehicles with a commercial
investment of €150 million.The investment in electric vehicles is a key part of TNT’s environmental strategy and its globalprogramme Planet Me.
The joint purchase aims to create sufficient demand for environmentally responsible technologiesby introducing a large-scale fleet of low-emission vehicles on the market.
“The price of electric vehicles today is still prohibitively high and the technology simply isn’t advanced enough to encourage large-scale purchasing,” said Peter Bakker, CEO of TNT, which chairsthe Dutch Consortium for the Tender of Electric Cars (DC-TEC).
In September 2009, TNT teamed up with other Dutch companies to launch a joint tender for 3,000electric vehicles over the following three years. Therefore, the companies and organisationscreated a special independent purchasing consortium under the supervision of the UrgendaFoundation.
As a leading partner in DC-TEC, TNT will make the largest purchase of 600 vehicles over threeyears.
“This consortium is an effort to stimulate the kind of change we want to see in the market ofelectric vehicles. If we can reduce the barriers for electrifying fleets and make them morefinancially attractive to business, that result will benefit not only DC-TEC partners but will helpto create more demand for sustainable transport solutions,” Bakker explained.
Three types of vehicles will be purchased including passenger vehicles as well as small andlarge commercial vans. However, the agreement will only go through its if suppliers tendering forthe purchase can assure the consortium that the quality of electric vehicles will meet itsstandards and the price of each electric vehicles will not exceed that of a conventional vehicle,TNT said in a statement.
“A neutral business case is an absolute necessity for consortium members to justify such alarge-scale purchase,” said Ruben van Doorn, TNT project director and DC-TEC spokesperson.
The consortium represents a broad cross-section of Dutch industry, including logisticsproviders, energy and construction firms and government. Some of the consortium members include ABNAMRO, Delta, Essent, Facilicom, the Municipality of Rotterdam, the Municipality of Leeuwarden, ING,JCDecaux, the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Dutch Ministryof Transport, Public Works and Water Management, NUON, Philips, Port of Rotterdam, the Province ofFriesland and Triodos Bank.
The transport sector as a whole accounts for about 18% of global CO2 emissions output and thuscan contribute to environmental responsibility, according to Bakker.
Earlier this year, the global operator announced its ambitions to improve its CO2 efficiency by45% in 2020, compared to 2007, which require innovative operational solutions like new vehicletechnology.
