Logistics company
DB Schenker wants to invest in electric trucks on a large scale
DB Schenker wants to add electric trucks to its fleet. Photo: picture alliance / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
The logistics industry is booming. In addition to major players in the market such as DHL and Kuehne + Nagel, the rail subsidiary Schenker is also involved. The company from Essen is now investing heavily in electric trucks.
The logistics company DB Schenker intends to make progress on its climate policy with a major investment in electromobility.
The subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn announced in Essen that it has pre-ordered around 1,500 electric trucks from the Swedish manufacturer Volta Trucks. The financial volume of the investment was not disclosed.
“The large-scale partnership with Volta Trucks enables us to accelerate the electrification of our fleet enormously and to invest in sustainable, more environmentally friendly transport solutions,” said Schenker manager Cyrille Bonjean. This brings the company much closer to its goal of climate-neutral logistics.
Start in Paris
According to the plan, the first prototypes will start to be used in spring, with two vehicles starting in Paris. The knowledge gathered in this way will then flow into the series production of 1470 trucks, which will take place in Steyr, Austria. It is still unclear when the first series vehicles will be put on the road.
The 16-tonne trucks are to be used in the Ruhr area and at other European Schenker terminals, such as Berlin and Vienna. The range is said to be 150 to 200 kilometers, the trucks are supposed to transport goods from distribution centers to inner cities and other urban areas.
The pre-order is remarkable: Competitors such as Deutsche Post DHL and Kuehne + Nagel are not that far advanced when it comes to electric trucks. The companies are also investing heavily in climate-friendly technologies in order to reduce their CO2 emissions – DHL, for example, relies on electric vans (street scooters). E-trucks are not yet on the road for these companies on a large scale. Schenker is now elevating his electrical efforts to another level. The «Funke» media group had previously reported on it.
Around 45,000 trucks are in use every day for Schenker, most of them belonging to subcontractors. So far, Schenker only has a good 2,500 trucks of its own in its fleet. By purchasing the Stromer, the company’s own inventory would be significantly larger overall.
Climate-friendly logistics
Experts rate the bulk order from Stromer as an important step on the way to climate-friendly logistics. “On short-haul routes, electric trucks can help reduce the industry’s CO2 emissions,” said logistics professor Kai-Oliver Schocke from the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences.
However, he pointed out that the range of electric trucks was still limited and that diesel vehicles would have to cover long distances for a longer period of time. 40-tonne trucks are on the move on these routes – “and there is no market-ready electric offer in sight for this,” says Schocke.