Deutsche Post DHL is selling 500 electric StreetScooter vans to Japanese parcel market leader Yamato Transport and has solved battery problems with part of its German fleet.
The Japanese logistics provider is modernizing its fleet in its centenary year to offer more environmentally friendly services and a better working environment for its delivery staff. The Germany-made vehicles, which are due to go into operation this year, have been modified to meet both Japanese standards and the specific needs of Yamato, including a steering wheel on the right.
Yutaka Nagao, Representative Director, President and Executive Officer of Yamato Transport, said: “While restructuring a sustainable last mile delivery network for TA-Q-BIN, it has been a big challenge for us to develop new delivery vehicles with the consideration of our employee’s point of view. This encounter with StreetScooter is truly exciting to us, and we’re looking forward to our first step towards a resolution through joint development.”
The order is good news to Achim Kampker, the CEO of StreetScooter. “We’re truly thrilled that Yamato has chosen our electric vehicles,” he said. “It’s fresh validation that our vision of building customized, industry-specific vehicles is blossoming, this time on an international scale. The strategic cooperation with Yamato is thus an important step on the road to tapping the Japanese market for electric light utility vehicles.”
Yamato has ordered 500 Work Pure models, which is the most basic vehicle without any truck body. Truck bodies will be assembled and installed on Work Pure chassis by the Japanese company Toprec, and will also be suitable for cold-chain applications. Maintenance and repair will be performed by the Yamato Transport’s group company, Yamato Autoworks, which is responsible for the group’s delivery fleet and also functions as a fleet services provider for third parties.
Yamato Transport is the leading logistics company in Japan and number one on the domestic parcel market. In fiscal year 2018, the company transported some 1.8 billion items. With the help of Yamato’s “TA-Q-BIN” service, customers can send parcels, merchandise (even cold-chain items) as well as bulky goods and luggage to nearly any address in Japan, including hotels and airports.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Post DHL has solved operational problems with batteries that forced it to take nearly 500 of its 9,000 StreetScooters in Germany temporarily out of operation. Two vehicles caught fire after friction around the battery casing generated excessive heat, forcing the company to take similar models out of service for checks. But this issue has now been resolved and the affected vehicles are now back in operation.
