Nearly 60 electric vehicles are demonstrated over a period of two years in the operations of the postal organisations in Germany, Sweden, Finland, France, and Belgium. Environmental legislation related to road transport is becoming more and more restrictive in these countries, and has thus induced an increased consciousness on the need for emissions reduction and the future of commercial transport particularly in urban areas among major fleet operators.

The demonstration of electric vehicles for light and medium duty fleets in preparation to meet anticipated future emissions regulations in urban areas essentially carries two elements. On the first part, a selection of serial EV models readily available on the European market were procured and deployed along with supporting infrastructure for recharging, servicing, and maintenance by Posten Sverige, Finland Post Ltd., the City of Turku, La Poste, and De Post. These vehicles are closely monitored over a period of more than two years providing insights on energy consumption and durability as well as on economic break-even scenarios against diesel and petrol and the optimised management of electric vehicle fleets. The second aspect of the project is aimed at extending the current performance limits of EVs by introducing the advanced Sodium-Nickel-Chloride battery (ZEBRA) in electric light vans of Deutsche Post AG. The associated monitoring results and feedback with battery and vehicle manufacturers will provide direction and experience for the further development and a wider deployment of this innovative high-performance technology. EVD-POST will be essential for bringing about a breakthrough in the deployment of electric vehicles in professional fleets over the coming years.