by Walther Ploos van Amstel
VDL Steelweld, TNO Automotive and e-groceries prvider Picnic will jointly develop a new electrical last-mile vehicle. The project is called DUELL: Development of an Urban E-truck for Last-mile Logistics. In 2020 the vehicle must go into production.
To increase the benefits of a UCC in city logistics, the delivery to the final customers from the UCC can be done using light electric freight vehicles. These LEFV provide numerous operational benefits due to their smaller size while being more sustainable than regular light commercial vans.
The European Commission has promoted actions and policies with the aim of reducing the negative impacts on traffic and environment caused by city logistics. One increasingly popular measure is the use of cargo bikes in city logistics due to their improved energy efficiency, lower emissions and lower traffic disturbance.
A trial of a fully autonomous electric-powered vehicle (Cargopod) conducting last-mile deliveries for Ocado in Greenwich (UK) ended this month. The vehicle has delivered groceries to more than 100 customers so far. Read more at Freight in the City.
The number of light commercial vehicles in cities is growing, which puts increasing pressure on cities in terms of pollution, congestion, accessibility and loss of public space. One of the opportunities for improvement may be found in the use of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs), including cargo bikes.
Lots of attention has been given in recent years to the “massive” increase in delivery traffic in cities and residential districts. Web stores and the vans that deliver their parcels often get the blame for that. My neighbors wonder if it really can’t all just fit into one delivery van. They see PostNL, DHL, Albert …