DPD, a UK parcel delivery company, recently made two big deals with electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers Nissan and MAN Truck & Bus UK. These deals have seen to DPD meeting its target of having over 500 electric vans in its fleet of delivery vehicles by the end of the year.
The most recent of the two deals was with vehicle manufacturer MAN Truck & Bus UK. DPD claim the first 100 eTGE’s roll off the production line in June 2020.
Dwain McDonald, DPD’s CEO, said:
We’re building the largest all-electric delivery fleet in the UK, in double-quick time. The 3.5t van is absolutely core to our delivery and collection fleet strategy, so this is a big deal for us. It gives us huge efficiencies on the road in terms of route densities, but we’ve had to wait a long time for the first electric right-hand drive 3.5t vans. We’re really pleased to be partnering with MAN Truck & Bus on what is another UK EV first, and we are hugely grateful for their support.
We are urging other manufacturers to bring forward right-hand drive electrics as we can take far more. It isn’t just us demanding them, our retail customers have responded very positively to our new EV fleet and they want to be telling their customers about their green deliveries too. We are designing new ways of working to incorporate these vehicles into our operation, so they are transforming our business as well as contributing to cleaner air and less congestion.
MAN’s eTGE was designed with the requirements of inner-city delivery traffic in mind. It has a range of 65-70 miles and a load volume of 10.7 cubic meters. It is powered by a 36kW lithium-ion battery that can be fully charged in little over five hours or rapidly charged in 45 minutes to 80%.
Thomas Hemmerich, Managing Director MAN Truck & Bus UK, said:
MAN Truck & Bus UK is delighted to have received an order of the first 100 eTGE right-hand drive units before the official UK Launch at the Birmingham CV Show this year, from our strategic partner DPD. We are thrilled to be leading the electric transformation of the UK 3.5t van market. With our eTGE van, we are responding to the high customer demand and interest for these vehicles from the UK market.
The previous deal was with vehicle manufacturer Nissan. DPD purchased 300 new electric Nissan e-NV200 vans to be delivered by May 2020. That order is possibly the largest yet single UK commercial EV van order.
McDonald said:
This is a real landmark day in the move to a more sustainable future for the parcel industry. These vehicles are changing the way we work. It isn’t just a case of plugging them in and saying, ‘job done’. We are rethinking and re-engineering how we deliver parcels now and in the future with different route networks and new types of depots. It is an all-encompassing revolution for our industry and electric, emission-free vehicles are at the heart of that vision.
Credit to Nissan who have stepped up and made affordable righthand drive vehicles available in significant numbers, but we can take far more if other manufacturers do the same. These vehicles have been proven in one of the harshest environments. They are quiet, reliable and they get the job done for us, day in, day out. This enables us to say to more and more customers, ‘we’re delivering your parcels emission-free’, which is a key selling point when we are talking to retailers.
The Nissan e-NV200 has a better range than MAN’s eTGE and can cover a WLTP-approved 124-187 miles and a load space of 4.2 cubic meters with two sliding doors for easy access. It can fully charge in little under eight hours or rapid charge in approximately 60 minutes to 80%.
DPD’s earlier EV purchases were Nissan e-NV200. The company has been successfully using them over the last year and a half for deliveries and has been training drivers to get them used to electric vehicles. The drivers have submitted extremely positive feedback on the whole experience. Everyone is thrilled with the vans.
The MAN and Nissan purchases take DPD’s electric fleet up to 600 vehicles in total. The addition makes DPD the largest EV parcel delivery fleet in the UK. It aims to have 10% of all van’s in each of its 68 UK depots electric by the end of 2020.
