Ceva Logistics and BMW test electric car carrier
As part of a pilot project, Ceva Logistics has been transporting new BMW and Mini vehicles from its Marly-La-Ville site to a partner network in the Paris region since September. The company uses an electric car carrier to test its practicality in urban and suburban areas. The programme will run until the end of the first quarter of 2025, “after which a full evaluation will take place.”
This is a first for Ceva Logistics. The Marseille-based logistics service provider is ambitious and wants to expand its global fleet of electric vehicles to 1,450 units by the end of 2025 (currently 450 units). However, the company has not yet had an electrically powered car carrier in its fleet.
The partners don’t give any details about Volvo Trucks’ electric truck involved in the trial. However, a press photo shows that the body comes from Lohr and that the truck is based on a Volvo FM Electric. According to Ceva Logistics, the truck will be “recharged when needed between rounds, or in the evening upon its return to the Marly-la-Ville site.” The daily route is 270 kilometres, they say. Throughout the test programme, that should add up to 30,000 kilometres.
Whether Ceva and BMW will continue with the electric carrier afterwards depends on the evaluation of the telematics data. The results “will be decisive for the continuation of the project,” they say. However, BMW Group France explicitly emphasises that it intends to use the solution on a larger scale in cooperation with Ceva. Both sides have known each other for some time, as the partnership between CEVA Logistics and BMW Group France has been in place since 2018 and was recently extended for a further two years. In this context, Ceva Logistics transports around 90,000 vehicles a year from Marly-la-Ville, Marckolsheim and Le Havre.
Vincent Salimon, CEO of BMW Group France, comments:
“Reducing the carbon impact of our activities is essential to our CSR strategy in France, particularly for the distribution of our new vehicles. That’s why we’re proud to partner with CEVA Logistics to accelerate the decarbonisation of our logistics and remain at the forefront of integrating Sustainable Development into our operations.”
Emmanuel Cheremetinski, Head of Global Finished Vehicle Logistics at Ceva Logistics, adds: “We’re particularly proud of the partnership we’ve built with BMW Group France over the past six years. Year after year, we have demonstrated our ability to meet the most demanding logistics requirements of a leading car manufacturer. This electric car transporter pilot bears witness to our shared determination to work with our customers to implement more sustainable logistics solutions.”
Ceva plans to deploy 1,000 electric delivery vans, 300 electric trucks, and 150 electric articulated trucks for its own fleet, as well as general cargo and last-mile deliveries, next year. In addition, EVs will be used in special projects such as the European Clean Transport Network joint venture launched in 2023. The project, driven by Ceva and others, aims to build and operate a network of refuelling and charging stations for hydrogen, biogas and electric trucks along European motorways.
Ceva describes itself as a representative of third-party logistics with a wide range of end-to-end solutions in contract logistics, air, sea and land transport and the transport of finished vehicles. The Marseille-based group claims to have around 110,000 employees at over 1,300 locations worldwide. In addition to the vehicles in its own operating model, Ceva also wants to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles at some of its subcontractors.
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