StreetScooter production extended til end of 2022

Deutsche Post will extend the production of its StreetScooter until at least the end of 2022. The reason for this is the high demand for the electric delivery vehicles within the group. A new variant of the electric delivery van is also planned.

This was explained by Tobias Meyer, a member of the board of directors. From Deutsche Post’s point of view, there are no equivalent vans from other manufacturers on the market, so the production of the StreetScooter will be extended to cover the company’s own demand.

As part of its sustainability strategy, Deutsche Post DHL announced at the end of March that it would increasingly rely on electric vehicles for deliveries. The company’s own StreetScooter fleet is to grow from currently around 15,000 to over 20,000 vehicles, it said at the time. This week, the Post specified that up to 21,500 StreetScooters are planned.

Some of the new vehicles will be a larger version called StreetScooter Gigabox. This will have a load volume of 12 cubic metres and thus offer space for around 240 parcels. Meyer did not specify when the first “Gigabox” models would be built.

The entire delivery fleet is to comprise over 37,000 electric vehicles by 2025, “including e-utility vehicles from established car manufacturers, where available”, according to the German Post. In other words, if StreetScooter production is to be phased out at the end of 2022 according to current information, the Group is probably hoping for suitable electric delivery vehicles from the car industry from 2023 onwards.

Originally, Deutsche Post wanted to stop the production of StreetScooters in 2020. Later, the company stated that “a few thousand” would still be built in 2021. Now production will continue at least until the end of 2022. However, the fundamental decision to withdraw from this business and to limit itself to the core competencies of a logistics company will not change.

In addition to the StreetScooters, the Post & Parcel Germany division plans to procure another 5,000 electric trikes by 2025. Currently, around 8,000 e-bikes and 9,000 e-trikes are in use. The expansion of drop stations is also intended to reduce CO2 emissions: Compared to door-to-door delivery, a “Packstation” drop shipment is expected to save an average of 30 per cent CO2 over the last mile. Additionally, with just one trip, the delivery staff can deliver several dozen parcels.

automobilwoche.de (in German)