A huge Nissan electric van order is part of DPD's strategy to be the most responsible and sustainable city centre delivery company in the UK.

IOC Fellow, Dwain McDonald, DPD's CEO,

This is a real landmark day in the move to a more sustainable future for the express parcel industry. These vehicles are changing the way we work. It isn't just a case of plugging them in and saying, ‘job done'. We are rethinking and re-engineering how we deliver parcels now and in the future with different route networks and new types of depots. It is an all-encompassing revolution for our industry and electric, emission-free vehicles are at the heart of that vision.

In October 2018, DPD opened the UK's first all-electric parcel depot in Westminster and in November last year launched a unique, purpose-built, bio-mechanical hybrid electric-assisted quadracycle called the EAV P1. This week DPD has confirmed it will take delivery of 300 new electric Nissan e-NV200 vans by May 2020, in what is believed to be the largest single UK commercial EV van order to date.

The order will take DPD's electric fleet to 450 vehicles in total, with plans in place to exceed the firm's stated target of 500 EVs by the end of the year, making it the largest EV parcel delivery fleet in the UK. DPD is aiming for 10% of its van fleet to be electric in each of its 68 UK depots by that point.

DPD has been using the Nissan e-NV200 successfully for deliveries over the last 18 months. Feedback from drivers so far has been extremely positive, and the company has developed its own in-house training to help drivers adapt to electric vehicles, as part of a comprehensive vehicle handover programme. The Nissan e-NV200 can cover a WLTP-approved 124-187 miles on one charge and can be rapid charged to 80% in around 60 minutes, or to full in less than eight hours with a wall box. The e-NV200 boasts 4.2m2 load space and two sliding doors for easy access.

While DPD is leading the industry on EVs, it has been vocal about the barriers to more rapid adoption of the new technology. In a White Paper late last year, DPD called on vehicle manufacturers to make more righthand drive EVs available for the UK market.

Dwain McDonald,

Credit to Nissan who have stepped up and made affordable righthand drive vehicles available in significant numbers, but we can take far more, if other manufacturers do the same. These vehicles have been proven in the one of the harshest environments. They are quiet, reliable and they get the job done for us, day in, day out. This enables us to say to more and more customers, ‘we're delivering your parcels emission-free', which is a key selling point when we are talking to retailers.