DPD Germany started operating two electrically-powered Vito E-CELL vehicles in residential areasof Hamburg this week to provide emissions-free delivery and pickup of parcels after successful
trial runs in Stuttgart, southern Germany, earlier this year.Manufactured by Mercedes-Benz, the Vito E-CELL van is the world’s first ex-factorybattery-powered transporter which is perfectly suitable for inner-city delivery thanks to itsinnovative, emission-free drive system. DPD is one of the very first companies to test the VitoE-CELL in its daily operations.
“Electric vehicles make it possible to deliver parcels without generating any emissions as theyemit neither exhaust gases nor engine noise,” Hansjürn Beckmann, DPD branch manager in Hamburg,explained.
However, volumes, load capacity and range of the Vito-E-CELLS are lower than with conventionaldelivery vehicles. Therefore, they are only suitable for certain routes. “This is why the electricVitos are deployed in urban residential areas, where DPD mainly delivers parcels to privaterecipients,” Beckmann explained. “There, our drivers have to stop very often over a short distanceand generally only deliver a single parcel at each stop.”
With a permissible gross weight of 3,050 kg, the Vito E-CELL has a load capacity of 900 kg. Thistransport performance is made possible, on the one hand, by an especially compact and lightlithium-ion battery which has a high energy density compared to conventional batteries. At the sametime, the electric engine is an integral, factory-fitted component of the vehicle’s design. TheVito E-CELL has a range of approximately 130 kilometers. Its top speed of 80 km/h is designed fortransport operations both in the inner city and for short stretches in suburban areas.
The electric vehicles are charged at charging stations which have been set up at the DPD branchin Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg, one of the city’s districts. Their batteries are loaded at night, whensurplus electricity is available. As a result, no additional power needs to be generated forcharging the batteries.
At the beginning of 2011, DPD already piloted a trial run with five Vito E-CELLs in theStuttgart conurbation in southern Germany to test emission-free parcel delivery in the region. “Ourexcellent experience with electric vehicles in the Stuttgart conurbation have encouraged us toextend the trial run to Hamburg”, commented Gerd Seber, Manager for Sustainable Development at DPDGeoPost Germany, adding: “In transport-intensive parcel business, electro-mobility is a highlypromising method for reducing emissions in the long term”.
