Deutsche Post developing its own electric car

Deutsche Post and StreetScooter GmbH are developing their own design for an electric car to be used for mail and parcel delivery.

Prominent institutes of the RWTH Aachen University will also continue to be part of the project. The objective of this mutual endeavour is to create a completely new delivery vehicle that meets the special requirements of Deutsche Post in terms of suitability for daily operational use and economic efficiency. It should also be zero emissions. A drivable prototype is scheduled for the fall of 2012, and will be based on the "StreetScooter platform" created by StreetScooter GmbH, a spin-off company of the RWTH Aachen University.

"Protecting the environment is one of the stated goals of Deutsche Post DHL," said Jürgen Gerdes, Board of Management Member responsible for Mail at the company. "As operators of one of the largest vehicle fleets in Germany, we have a special interest in deploying vehicles that emit no emissions, are economically efficient and can handle the daily stresses of strains of delivery work. We have sought competent partners in StreetScooter GmbH and selected institutes of the RWTH Aachen University, in order to develop just such a custom vehicle for Deutsche Post, one that is designed to be producible."

The electric vehicle, which is to be developed specifically for Deutsche Post’s mail and parcel delivery, must be able to handle up to 200 stops and start-up procedures and be in use up to 300 days a year. It has to have sufficient enough load capacity for mail and parcels as well as a robust set of equipment that meets all the safety requirements. Electric vehicles that are currently on the market only meet some of these requirements and cannot yet be manufactured economically. The first phase of development focuses on a vehicle design that meets these special delivery related requirements and will be completed by the start of 2012.

The joint project of Deutsche Post and StreetScooter GmbH and institutes of the RWTH Aachen University is part of Deutsche Post DHL’s Group-wide environmental program GoGreen. The testing and deployment of vehicles with alternative drive trains are an important element of this pro-environment company policy. By 2020, the GoGreen programme aims to increase the company’s carbon efficiency by 30% compared to the base year of 2007.

Quelle: eyefortransport
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