DPD Ireland to invest €3.2 million in electrifying fleet

*Parcel delivery service to create 150 jobs over 12 months

Express Parcel delivery service DPD Ireland is going zero-emission with an investment of €3.2 million to electrify its fleet of vehicle.

This eco-friendly project, termed by the Athlone headquartered company as ‘ElectriCity’, hosted inaugural rollout in Dublin this week, and the project will extend to other urban locations throughout the country over the next three years.

DPD Ireland, which is predicting annual growth of 20 per cent this year, will create 150 new jobs over the next 12 months, bringing total employment to 1,300 within the company. Thirty of these new jobs will be part of ElectriCity and 120 as part of its country-wide services to facilitate this growth.

At the green vehicle launch, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment Richard Bruton said, “Transitioning to a low carbon economy will require more sustainable choices and leadership from industry. By investing in electrifying their fleet, DPD are putting sustainability at the heart of their business and leading the way. The announcement will not only reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, but also puts DPD’s business on a more sustainable footing.”

Company Chief Executive Des Travers stated that DPD will be the first parcel delivery firm to have an electric depot: “Through ElectriCity, fifteenparcel delivery routes in Dublin will become all-electric routes. By the end of this year, as part of our bid to reduce our carbon output, DPD will have saved more than 20 tonnes of CO2 being emitted as a result of moving to an electric fleet,” he said.

“DPD is committed to making every parcel delivered carbon neutral, and is doing so by measuring CO2 emissions, striving to reduce them, and by offsetting the remaining ones,” he added.

The first ten vehicles of the new electric fleet are now on the road.

“Another 15 have been ordered but the problem is supply and getting them into the country. While there is an urgent push to move to electric, from a commercial perspective, it is still difficult to procure appropriate vehicles. It is our intention to have electric vehicles stationed in all of our depots in three years,” he concluded.

The €3.2 million investment will include purchasing the electric vehicles, hiring personnel, employee training, acquiring the depots, and their refurbishment.

DPD operates 34 depots throughout Ireland with its central sortation hub in Athlone. The company, which recorded a turnover of €91.5 million last year expects to deliver 24 million parcels to its customers in 2019.

Mr Travers cited that new business and also growth within the company’s existing customer base as the reason for the increase in deliveries this year.

The company currently employs 1150 people and routed more than 20 million parcels to its delivery destinations last year. 

DPD EVs SPECIFICATION

Paxster:
Produced in Norway
Range: 100km
Max Speed: 45km
Charging time: 8 hours
Capacity: 0.5m3
Cost approx.€20K

Goupil:
Produced in France
Range: 135km
Max Speed: 50km
Charging time: 6 hours
Capacity: 3m3
Cost approx. €30K

LDV EV80:
Produced in China
Range 200km
Max speed: 100km
Charging time: 2 hours
Capacity: 10.2m3
Cost approx. €65K

The Goupils were purchased from Irish Grass Machinery, 39 Rosemount Business Pk, Ballycoolin, Dublin D11 RW61.The LDVs were supplied by Harris Commercial Vehicles, Naas Road, Dublin 12. The Paxsters were sourced directly from Norway.