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Small and electric, the "Streetscooter" is already incongruous in a Germany proud of its powerful sedans. But this van also bears the logo of Deutsche Post, which has taken the major manufacturers by speed in the urban delivery.
More than 6,000 of these yellow machines loaded with parcels crisscross today the German cities, of the 49,300 vehicles used by the local Post Office, and the company has just opened a second factory to produce a total of 40 per day.
Wishing to improve its carbon footprint at lower cost, Deutsche Post first tried to supplying electric vehicles to national auto giants, such as Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler.
But their delay in this niche prompted it to buy a start-up in 2014 which developed its own utilities, to the point of to give this project a "big boost" to electric mobility in Germany, says Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, an badyst at Center Automotive Research.
"This truck is quieter and better integrated with its environment. Miroslav Arapovic, a delivery man for more than 20 years, has been operating his Streetscooter in front of a parcel sorting center at the Post Office near Frankfurt.
– Minimalism –
Smaller than traditional trucks, this minimalist machine was designed for delivery in the city: the battery has a range of about 80 kilometers, drastically reducing production costs.
It is not surprising that the big manufacturers, with their models cut for the road – so the distance and the speed -, could not "answer the specific requests of the Post office", explains to AFP Stefan Reindl, director of the Institute for the Economy of the Automobile (Ifa)
Their production structures are quite rigid, discouraging them from engaging in small-scale projects, and they tend also to "bard their cars" "
Deutsche Post badures that it" does not want to become a car manufacturer ", but only improve its service of the" last kilometer ", according to Achim Kampker, boss of Streetscooter . [19659002] Behind this jargon lies a key issue of urban mobility, since the explosion of e-commerce has multiplied the short journeys of deliverymen in cities increasingly congested and polluted.
Constraints to clean up their air, some German municipalities – Hamburg first and soon Stuttgart – have banned the most polluting diesel engines from their streets, encouraging logistics professionals to bet on electricity.
– "Zero emission" objective – [19659002] And the challenge is far from being limited to Germany: in London, according to a British study of 2017, the traffic of light vans has increased by 30% since 1993, while that of cars and taxis has declined since the beginning of the year. 2000s.
On the pollution side, "last mile" deliveries concentrate the problems. Not only does the current fleet run predominantly on diesel, but its frequent shutdowns, low speed and heavy loadings degrade the toxic emissions footprint, according to the Independent Transport Commission, hence the many recommendations in favor of electric
But the shift towards "zero emission" logistics has taken historic builders by surprise, opening the market for electric utilities to Deutsche Post, which has been selling its model outside since the summer of 2017 for some 40,000 euros.
The Aachen start-up announced the sale of 200 units to a British milk supply company at the end of May, and in early July the Innogy subsidiary Westnetz announced the acquisition of 300 vehicles as part of a "development partnership".
StreetScooter is also developing a new larger and more powerful model with the iconic Ford automaker, yet reduced to providing
– Awakening Giants –
But this advance may not last, now that Volkswagen, Daimler or BMW, entangled in repeated scandals on their pollutant emissions, are working hard to make up for their delay
In 2017, for example, Daimler and delivery driver Hermes announced a partnership to develop 1,500 vans, delivered by 2020.
The question is whether the Swiss Post minivan can "remain competitive in the long term", in an urban delivery market now invested by the heavyweights of the sector, notes an observer of the branch.
M. Reindl is on his side "certain" that large groups will quickly propose "many" products for this market.
"Maybe this is the moment for them to adapt (…) and to think about whether their products require as much complexity every time. "
In an interview in June, Deutsche Post CEO Frank Appel said he wanted to keep StreetScooter in the group "At least for the next two years", without further details
In the long term, the group plans to float its subsidiary, or marry it with a large builder.
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