DHL Express recently announced the addition of 80 electric vehicles (EVs) to its Singapore fleet, in partnership with ComfortDelGro, one of the world's largest land transport companies.

In a statement, DHL said together with the 10 EVs that are currently in its fleet, DHL Express Singapore will have a total of 90 EVs on Singapore roads by October 2022.

"This eight-fold increase in the number of operational EVs will make DHL Express Singapore the first logistics provider in the country to transition to a commercial EV fleet of this scale," the logistics company added.

DHL Express Singapore also announced that it will be investing close to SGD 8 million into electrifying its fleet over the next five years.

It said part of this investment amount goes towards a five-year EV leasing and maintenance agreement with ComfortDelGro's car leasing subsidiary, ComfortDelGro Rent-A-Car Pte Ltd for 80 electric vans.

Another part of the investment will support the installation of 105 charging points across its service centers, and 25 more EVs of other vehicle types that will support other areas of operations, such as shipment distribution across its facilities. The 25 other EVs will be added in the next 12 months.

"We are on a journey towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 with a focus on clean operations. As a leader in express logistics, we have a responsibility to guide and influence the industry to reduce carbon footprint across logistics operations," said Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

"Globally, we have made significant progress in sustainable aviation with our partnership with Neste and bp on sustainable aviation fuel. Today's electric vehicle fleet expansion marks another huge step forward as we green our land transport," Lee added.

DHL noted that the new EVs will replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vans as part of DHL Express Singapore's fleet renewal exercise to drive sustainable logistics and support its sustainability roadmap.

It added that the change to EVs is also aligned with Singapore's 2030 Green Plan, which aims to put more EVs on Singapore’s roads.

"We are excited to be taking a bold step towards our sustainability goals and to be charging up for a greener future. By transitioning to electric vehicles, DHL Express Singapore is set to eliminate a total of 323 tons of CO2 emissions yearly, and this is just the beginning for us," commented Christopher Ong, managing director, DHL Express Singapore.

DHL said these EVs can travel a distance of up to 339km and have cargo space of up to 5.3m³ with a payload of 1000kg. They can be charged from 0% to 80% in 48 minutes and are equipped with driver assistance features such as hill-start assist, an anti-lock braking system, and an electronic stability program.