Citizens in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Bern will now have their letters and parcels delivered by electric vehicle. By the end of 2024, all delivery vehicles in Geneva and Basel will also become fully electric, as well as some 50 other locations in the mountainous country.
According to Swiss Post, the CEP provider already operates the biggest electric fleet in Switzerland: about 6,000 three-wheeled electric scooters and 500 four-wheeled electric vehicles for the delivery of letters and parcels, as well as 650 electric vehicles (for example, forklifts) used in other areas, such as sorting and (un-)loading.
In Zurich and Basel, there are a total of 568 electric vehicles in service, comprised of 374 electric scooters and 194 electric delivery vehicles.
One of the biggest challenges that Swiss Post has to deal with when using only electric vehicles is the planning of the delivery routes, because the vehicles have a limited range. The company explains that it is gradually equipping its locations with electric infrastructure, which poses another potential hurdle, as not all locations are owned by Swiss Post. Of the approximately 450 logistic centres operated by Swiss Post, around 140 are already equipped with charging infrastructure.