DPD has announced plans to deliver to 25 of the largest towns and cities in the UK using zero- and low-emission delivery means by 2025.
The move is part of a Europe-wide drive by the parcel delivery firm involving 225 urban areas in 20 countries and is based on a delivery model trialled in other cities, including London, using micro and urban depots as well as other alternative delivery solutions.
According to DPD, this programme will aid its goal of more than 260 million parcels or 17% of its volumes delivered by zero or low-emission vehicles in the UK by the end of 2025, with CO2 emissions decreasing by 89% and pollutants by 80%, compared to 2020 in targeted towns and cities.
Dwain McDonald, DPD CEO, said: “We know from what we have done in central London that this model works, and we know that shippers and shoppers both love seeing parcels delivered green. So, we have made significant progress already. It is great now to be able to share our longer-term vision and we look forward to turning these 25 towns and cities green.”
The towns and cities included in the initiative are Birmingham, Bradford, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, Coventry, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Reading, Sheffield, Southampton and Stoke-on-Trent.
New alternative fleets will be composed of various vehicles, depending on the town or city centre, delivery needs and regulation constraints. In the UK, DPD currently has over 700 EVs including MAN eTGE, Nissan eNV-200 and 7.5t Fuso eCanters and has recently announced trials with London Electric Vehicle Company and Volta Trucks.
And in order to achieve the company’s wider ambition of 225 so-called green cities, DPD said it will deploy 7,000 new alternative vehicles, 3,600 charging points and 80 new urban depots across Europe, representing an investment of €200m (£182m) in total by 2025.
