Yellow Service – Green Powertrain

StreetScooter GmbH has been a subsidiary of Deutsche Post DHL Group since 2014. The mail and logistics company has now deployed more than 3,000 of its striking electric vehicles in various German cities. The founders of the startup in 2010 included Dr. Günther Schuh and Dr. Achim Kampker, who are both researchers at the renowned RWTH Aachen University. They were interested in methods that could be used to build an electric vehicle as quickly as possible at the lowest possible cost. With the help of various research institutes and mid-sized companies, they were able to present their first prototype at the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA) just one year later.

Steadily Growing Electric Fleet

Although the prototype at the show was a passenger car, the startup caught the attention of Deutsche Post DHL. It had been looking for a suitable electric van for its package and mail carriers for some time and saw the StreetScooter as a workable starting point. After the first vehicles based on the concepts of the Bonn-based company were built in 2013, it acquired StreetScooter GmbH as a subsidiary in 2014. Just three years later, the electric van represented more than 6 percent of Deutsche Post DHL fleet.

Where E-Commerce Meets E-Mobility

A third model line based on the Ford Transit is now in the planning stages. It will have even greater cargo capacity. The business model meanwhile envisions selling the StreetScooter to other logistics companies – and not just building it for the Deutsche Post. And there is certainly demand for it, not least of all because Internet commerce will continue to grow and driving bans in German city-centers cannot be ruled out.

You can find a detailed report on electrically powered transport vehicles in the current edition of our customer magazine ESSENTIAL.