Kuehne+Nagel starts decarbonisation with Renault e-trucks

The French arm of logistics company Kuehne+Nagel has received 23 electric trucks from Renault. Kuehne+Nagel will use the 16-tonne trucks at eight locations in France and says the delivery was just the “first wave” in a bigger electrification effort.

Renault Trucks handed over the electric trucks of type E-Tech D at the Kuehne+Nagel site in Villefranche-sur-Saône. The German transport firm has opted for two variants of the E-Tech D, able to carry 18 or 21 pallets. However, the electric drive is the same under both chassis: with five 66 kWh battery packs each, the Renault electric truck has a range of up to 235 kilometres.

This fits in with the routes the new vehicles will serve. Kuehne+Nagel trucks departing from the above deot cover an average of 180 kilometres per day in courier services. The company expects the EVs to save them 730 tonnes in CO2 emissions.

According to the statement, Kuehne+Nagel France has a large domestic groupage network of 56 locations throughout the country, with many short and mid-range routes that EVs can easily service. On top, the new EV fleet was also in preparation for the upcoming legislation prohibiting polluting vehicles from entering French cities as of 2025 to improve air quality.

Xavier Léger, Managing Director of Road Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel France, added: “The environmental and energy transition is a challenge that concerns us all, and we are proud to play our part as a major player in the transport sector, enabling our customers to reduce emissions caused by transport.”

Kuehne+Nagel still sees the challenges mainly in range and infrastructure. “For now, it is more efficient to use EVs for domestic routes instead of international routes because of their limited range and the lack of charging infrastructure on European highways,” says Leger. Until the required infrastructural changes happen for long distances, Kuehne+Nagel already uses hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a bridging technology to reduce road transport carbon emissions.

“In addition to supplying the vehicles, we have worked closely with Kuehne+Nagel right from its earliest intention to decarbonise its fleet: from the study and analysis of requirements to monitoring implementation and operation,” explained Christophe Martin, Managing Director of Renault Trucks France. “With the introduction of these all-electric vehicles manufactured in France, Kuehne+Nagel will be able to continue its operations with the same range and payload, and access city centres regardless of the restrictions or regulations in force, without any direct CO2 emissions or noise pollution.”

Renault Trucks reportedly targets 50 per cent of sales from electric trucks in 2030 and selling EVs only from 2040. In 2022, the company achieved a market share of 24.2 per cent in Europe’s medium- and heavy-duty electric truck segment, as reported. In France, the company accounted for as much as 75 per cent of the medium and heavy-duty electric trucks sold there last year.

Kuehne+Nagel says it aims for 60 per cent of its global fleet to be made up of low-emission vehicles by 2030, specifically electric vehicles.

kuehne-nagel.com, https://www.renault-trucks.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/kuehnenagel-takes-delivery-23-renault-trucks-electric-vehicles-more