DPD ahead of target on city-orientated all-electric delivery goals

Delivery firm DPD says it is now providing an all-electric delivery service to 10 UK towns and cities and is aiming for 30 all-electric locations by the end of 2023 - that's five more than originally planned and two years earlier than expected.

Oxford became DPD's first 'green' city In July 2021, with a fleet of 40 electric vehicles based at the new DPD Bicester eco-depot, delivering over 15,000 parcels a week across the city.

DPD this week confirmed that nine additional UK locations have achieved the same all-electric delivery status. The ten 'green' towns and cities are, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Southampton and Stoke.

Progress is also well underway at the other previously announced green delivery locations - Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Sheffield.

DPD now expects these locations to achieve all-electric status by the end of next year which is two years earlier than planned. In addition, the firm is now planning for five more towns, Birkenhead, Gateshead, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rotherham and Shipley to become all-electric by the end of 2023.

To-date, DPD has invested over £90m on all-electric vehicles in the UK and says it hasn't bought a diesel van since summer 2020.

Elaine Kerr, DPD UK CEO, commented, "One of our big aims is to be the UK's most sustainable delivery company and by the end of 2023 we will have over 5,000 EVs on the road and 30 urban centres delivered on all-electric vehicles.

Kerr says that some issues that have held back the programme, such as the lack of righthand drive EVs for the UK market, but it is now seeing improved availability of larger electric vans, which Kerr describes as “what we need.” Kerr also says DPD wants to work closely with local authorities up and down the country to develop a network of city centre final mile micro-depots.

"By targeting major town and city centres, we can make a significant difference to emissions in those locations and help improve air quality where it is most needed,” she continues, addng, “In addition to buying the vehicles, and investing in charging infrastructure, we continue to optimise our routing and operation, to create the smartest possible delivery system and reduce our overall miles per parcel."