StreetScooter probably isn’t a name you’re familiar with. But that could soon change. This German startup was founded in 2010 to make affordable electric vehicles for urban use. It caught the eye of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The German postal group liked it so much, it bought the company in 2014.
After a successful trial of 50 vans, the German postal group is now planning to deploy 2,000 StreetScooter electric vans into its urban delivery fleet by the end of 2017. These will be in Germany, but as StreetScooter ramps up its production capacity, surplus vehicles are expected to be available to third-party buyers.
I’d also guess that if the StreetScooter proves successful in Germany, Deutsche Post DHL may start to experiment with using the vans for DHL parcel deliveries in other major European cities.
According to the StreetScooter website, the Work van has a range of 50-80km and takes 4.5 hours to charge up to 80% capacity. A full charge takes 7 hours, but most urban delivery vans don’t operate for more than 14 hours a day, making a 7-hour charging period perfectly acceptable.
The model described on StreetScooter’s website has a payload of 650kg, and a maximum laden weight of 2,130kg, putting it on a par with popular small vans such as the Citroen Berlingo and Ford Transit Connect. Indeed, the electric version of the Citroen Berlingo uses the same GKN e-Drive electric drivetrain as the StreetScooter.
Deutsche Post DHL is ultimately targeting a 100% electric delivery fleet. This year’s plan to put 2,000 new StreetScooter vans into service is an important step in the right direction.
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