Ford unveils its new electric truck made with DHL

Earlier this year, Deutsche Post (DHL) announced that Ford won an important contract to build 2,500 all-electric vans for the logistic company.

The companies are now unveiling the new electric truck.

DHL was already producing its own all-electric delivery vehicle, the Streetscooter WORK and WORK L, but the new vehicle is a larger one built on the Ford Transit and now appropriately called the Streetscooter WORK XL.

Today, they confirmed a few details of the new Work XL.

The e-van’s platform is built to fit a modular battery system that can hold modules between 30 and 90 kWh of energy, which they claim can enable a range of between 80 km (50 miles) and 200 km (124 miles). They are charged with a 22 kW onboard charger

As for the load capacity, The truck has a load volume capacity of 20 cubic meters, which is enough stowage space for over 200 parcels or about 1,350 kg.

They released a few pictures of the new vehicle today:

Each one of those new trucks replacing diesel trucks is expected to save 5 tonnes of CO2 and 1,900 liters of diesel per year. Considering that they plan a fleet of 2,500 vehicles in service, they expect that it could result in a “total saving of 12,500 tonnes of CO₂ and 4.75 million liters of fuel every year.”

Jürgen Gerdes, Member of the Board of Management Post – eCommerce – Parcel, at Deutsche Post DHL Group, said:

“The new StreetScooter WORK XL expands our e-fleet in the commercial vehicle segment. It is the perfect vehicle for parcel deliveries in major cities and large urban areas, and will enable us to cope with the rising parcel volumes in an even more environmentally friendly and quieter manner. With this commitment, we are also underlining our claim of being the market leader in green logistics.”

They are planning for “around 150 early build e-vans” to be manufactured in partnership with Ford at the StreetScooter plant in Aachen by the end of the year and those e-vans will quickly be deployed in DHL’s delivery service fleet in Germany.

The total 2,500 vehicles are expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Interestingly, DHL is also opening the door to sell those trucks to third-parties.