Austrian Post soon to be emission-free on the road

Austrian Post has announced that it will no longer purchase any vehicles with combustion engines. Instead, the company's vehicle fleet will be increased by an additional 800 electric vehicles within the current year. Currently, Austrian Post already owns 1100 e-load bikes and approximately 1400 e-transporters for parcel delivery. In 2023, a further 1300 e-vehicles are to be added. Austrian Post has already been operating electric vehicles since 2011. In the long term, Austrian Post aims to deliver all parcels and letters without emissions by 2030. To this end, the company will also push ahead with the use of photovoltaics.

"As of now, we are no longer creating vehicles with combustion engines for delivery; instead, we will invest more than €80 million in e-vehicles and charging infrastructure in 2022 and 2023," said Peter Umundum, Österreichische Post AG's Board Member for Parcel & Logistics. "Advances and developments in the vehicle market will enable us to significantly accelerate the ramp-up of our e-fleet." (pv-magazine)

The new vans from manufacturer Peugeot have a longer range than the existing e-post fleet. Austrian Post expects that in the future, 90 percent of all delivery segments in Austria could be covered by e-vehicles. According to the company, electric vans are better suited for start-stop operation in parcel delivery than vehicles with combustion engines. Austrian Post is also positive about the wear and tear and energy costs of its e-vehicles. The old batteries will also be used in a so-called second-life storage system at the charging stations, which will improve their energy balance. Batteries in a second-life storage system are designed to prevent electricity demand peaks during charging by replenishing them at off-peak times, making the charging process much more efficient.

Sources

pv-magazine, article by Marian Willuhn (3/3/2022):

https://www.pv-magazine.de/2022/03/03/oesterreichische-post-setzt-bei-zustellflotte-nur-noch-auf-elektro/, accessed: 3/12/2022 at 11:15 a.m.

Volkswagen AG Official Website:

https://www.volkswagenag.com/de/news/2018/03/MAN_VHH.html, accessed: 3/12/2022 at 12:30 p.m.