Deutsche Post, the German postal service, announced a plan to build its own electric delivery vans, called the Streetscooter.
The first Streetscooter models are expected to come off the production lines later this year, according to the Europe Online Magazine. Deutsche Post will gradually replace with the Streetscooter its fleet of 30,000 delivery vans.
The Streetscooter company was founded in 2010 as an offshoot from RWTH University. The start-up is located in the border city of Aachen. A year and a half ago Deutsche Post took over the company with the aim of using its know-how to design and build electric vehicles for postal deliveries.
The first 2,000 electric vans will be manufactured in 2016. For the beginning, Deutsche Post will use the vehicles for its own delivery fleet but in the long term the company also plans to market the Streetscooter.
Juergen Gerdes, manager of the postal service's parcel division, declared that there have been enquiries from interested potential customers about the Streetscooter. However, at the moment Deutsche Post needs all the production capacity for itself.
Gerdes added that in the development of the new electric vehicles, letter and parcel deliverers were closely involved. Deutsche Post has a clear vision on how the Streetscooter "should be optimally supplied for deliveries." The electric delivery van features a much larger storage area adapted to the needs of the delivery personnel.
Deutsche Post compares itself to electric car pioneer Tesla. With its in-house developed electric vehicle, the German postal service can build aggressively priced tools for business customers, same as Tesla builds high-value cars for private customers. Delivery vehicles are viewed as ideal applications for electric cars, because they travel predictable routes over short distances.
According to the Green Car Reports, Deutsche Post already tested a group of 50 prototype vehicles in 2013. These electric cars feature a lithium-ion battery pack that allows for a range of 74 miles. Their 40-horsepower electric motors provide a top speed of 52 mph.