Deutsche Post enlists Ford for electric vans drive

Deutsche Post DHL Group is broadening its venture into electric delivery vans, signing Ford as a parts provider for a new line of bigger automobiles, the companies stated on Wednesday.

The logistics group at first established an electric minivan called Streetscooter for its own operations to prevent inner-city emissions after development in online shopping resulted in increased parcel deliveries. However in April it took on automakers by revealing strategies to step up production and sell to other delivery companies.

For the bigger van, Ford will provide auto technology based on the Transit model, with Deutsche Post keeping assembly, circulation and sales in-house, a Germany-based Ford representative said.

The brand-new model is part of a strategy to develop another production site for the Streetscooter unit and double yearly output to 20,000 vans by the end of the year.

“This step highlights that Deutsche Post is an innovation leader. It will ease the inner cities and increase people’s quality of life,” Deutsche Post official Juergen Gerdes stated.

Advances in manufacturing software are enabling car industry beginners such as Deutsche Post, Google and start-ups to tap providers to style, engineer and evaluate new car concepts without working with thousands of engineering personnel or spending billions in tooling and factories.

The logistics group, which is also developing a country-wide network of repair and maintenance shops, wants a fleet of a minimum of 2,500 of the new vans on the road by the end of 2018, it stated.