DHL Express France is strengthening its network of ‘green’ vehicles, after delivering nearly63,000 shipments using tricycles and electric vehicles in 2010.
Three new branches will serve urban areas this year via ecological vehicles, bringing the totalnumber of branches now using tricycles and electric vehicles for deliveries in major French citycentres to seven: Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Rennes, Nice, Montpellier and Orléans. Orléans will useelectric trucks from ‘Kangourou Vert’ and Montpellier and Nice will use tricycles in cooperationwith ‘Les Triporteurs du Midi’ and ‘BeCycle’ respectively.
DHL Express France’s eco-vehicles covered a distance of over 62,000 km last year, saving morethan 6,000 litres of diesel and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions by more than 15 tonnes.
It said the use of tricycles and small electric vans allows DHL Express to offer ecological andefficient delivery solutions to its customers, often simplifying access to city centres, andavoiding problems related to motorised vehicles such as traffic jams and restrictions. Their smallsize means they can often fit through small passages and stop easily to effect delivery, allowingcustomers in city centres, such as boutiques, banks and service companies, to be accessedquickly.
Florence Noblot, CEO of DHL Express International, commented: “DHL is the first player in thesector of transport and logistics to commit itself to reduce its CO2 emissions by 30% by 2020,compared to 2007. The development of our urban network of tricycles and electric vehicles is one ofmany measures we are taking in France to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. This is also in linewith the sustainable processes of our customers who have become increasingly attentive to ouractivities related to preserving the environment.”
