DHL Express has expanded its electric vehicle fleet in Malaysia with the addition of 51 new vehicles. This includes 44 electric vans and 7 electric bikes for pick-up and delivery services in Malaysia.
According to DHL, the latest investment builds on the company’s milestone of being the first in the country to deploy electric vehicles for logistics use in October 2022. With the new vehicles, DHL now has a total of 61 EVs to serve its communities nationwide. It aims to electrify 60% of its vehicle fleet by 2030.
DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei Managing Director, Julian Neo said, “In facilitating global trade and supply chains, we believe it should not come at the expense of the environment.”
“As industries continue to transform in the direction of sustainability, we remain focused on leveraging green technologies towards climate-neutral operations. Expanding our EV network marks another significant step in our journey to be net-zero carbon by 2050,” he added.
With the latest announcement, DHL Express Malaysia have expanded their electric van fleet from 10 to 54 to cover other states nationwide beyond Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor. DHL Express will be deploying CAM EA4 and Foton iBlue to complement its existing group of CAM EC35 vans.
The electrified fleet is expected to lead to a 74% reduction in total fuel costs and a 63.5% increase in carbon efficiency compared to the internal combustion engine vans being replaced.
Besides electric vans, DHL has also acquired 7 Blueshark R1 smart electric scooters to enhance pick-up and delivery of documents and small shipments as well as provide ad-hoc despatch support for government correspondence. The couriers will be utilising their two-wheeled EVs for their routes in the Klang Valley, Penang, Melaka and Ipoh.
The Blueshark bikes come with a swappable 2.88kWh dual-battery setup which has a claimed NEDC-rated range of 110km on a single charge. These bikes can also be charged directly and a full charge takes 3.5 hours from a regular wall power source.
DHL said the Blueshark R1 represents an effective solution for emission-free transport of lighter payloads in urban road conditions and it offers an estimated 90% lower annual CO2e output over conventional 150cc bikes.
DHL said plans are already in place to transition 23% of all last-mile delivery vehicles in Malaysia to electric by the end of 2024. It added that the move will position DHL Express Malaysia squarely on track to achieve the Groupwide target of a 60% electric fleet by 2030.
DHL Express Malaysia Vice President of Operations, Thushan Gooneratne, said “Innovations in EV development have produced growing evidence that sustainability and performance can go hand-in-hand. We are confident in our role as a driving force to accelerate adoption and facilitate positive changes in the logistics sector. With our decarbonisation strategy, we can ensure we responsibly cover every mile.”
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