DHL Express Malaysia increases EV share with local vehicles

The new vehicles bring DHL’s fleet in Malaysia to a total of 61 electric vehicles, including scooters. As for vans, their numbers jumped from ten to 54, extending coverage beyond Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Johor, according to the logistics company.

DHL Express Malaysia relies on vans made by the Sendok Group. The brand-new CAM EA4 and Foton iBlue are now coming into service, in addition to the CAM EC35. DHL expects a 74 per cent reduction in total fuel costs and a 63.5 per cent increase in carbon efficiency compared to the replaced ICE vans.

Technical details are hard to come by since the van is new and DHL does not deliver data. Still, according to previews from October, the Sendok EV appears to rely on LFP batteries with around 86 kWh capacity for a range of 400 km in NEDC testing. The CAM EA4 has a rear drive that delivers about 100 kW.

DHL Express had more to say about the new e-scooters joining the fleet. These are from Blueshark in Malaysia, and each R1 model has a 2.88 kWh battery that enables 110 kilometres in NEDC on 3.5 hours of slow charging. Moreover, a second battery included in the delivery allows battery swapping and longer operations.

The R1 scooters shall primarily deliver documents and small parcels and provide ad-hoc despatch support for government correspondence, writes DHL. Couriers will start using their new two-wheeled drives on their routes in the Klang Valley, Penang, Melaka, and Ipoh.

The company says plans are in place to transition 23 per cent of all last-mile delivery vehicles in Malaysia to electric by the end of 2024. This would position DHL Express Malaysia on track to achieve the Group-wide target of a 60 per cent electric fleet by 2030. The company has 29,200 EVs operating globally, of which 27,800 are involved in pick-up and delivery.

dhl.com (fleet increase), paultan.org (CAM van preview)