Yellow Vehicle Fleet of Swiss Post on a Green Course

They are yellow, but they drive green, are climate-friendly, and can improve air quality. We are talking about the 6200 electric delivery vehicles of the Post. As the largest logistics provider in Switzerland, the Post is increasingly focusing on green mobility. Its vehicles with alternative drives are an important building block for the “Post of the Future,” as its goal is to electrify its entire delivery fleet by 2030. And by 2040, it aims to become a climate-neutral company.

(Bern) Due to online shopping, the number of package shipments will continue to increase in the future. And more packages mean additional trips. Therefore, it is obvious that the Post is actively committed to sustainability and relies entirely on electric mobility for the delivery of letters and packages throughout Switzerland. For over ten years, the approximately 6000 electric tricycles used by postal workers have been operating exclusively with certified Swiss green electricity. Now, the Post is also gradually equipping its four-wheeled vehicles with alternative drives.

Today, 111 brand new electric delivery vehicles are being inaugurated in Fétigny (FR) and Mendrisio (TI) – the first Post locations in the Romandy and Ticino that are exclusively equipped with electric vehicles.

In some centrally located neighborhoods of the city of Zurich, the Post is already delivering all letters and packages on the last mile with electric vehicles from its second City Logistics hub in Neumünster. This means that around 3500 households and 16,600 Zurich postal customers receive their letters and packages CO₂-neutral.

Known and popular: the legendary electric scooter of the Swiss Post (Kyburz DXP / © Swiss Post)

CO2-Neutral Delivery is Just the Beginning

And this is just the beginning. CO₂-neutral delivery is gearing up: Starting in 2025, the delivery of the Post in the major Swiss cities will predominantly be climate-friendly with electric vehicles: Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Geneva will be the first urban areas to benefit from climate-neutral delivery. And in nine years, the Post aims to have a nationwide delivery fleet that is exclusively powered by alternative drives. In total, around 10,500 delivery vehicles across Switzerland will be equipped with electric or other environmentally friendly drive technologies.

Sustainable Development is a Given

For Johannes Cramer, a member of the executive board and head of the logistics services division of the Post, it is a given that the Post sets an example with its commitment to sustainable development and particularly to electric mobility: “The Post wants to be exemplary in terms of sustainability and, moreover, integrate sustainability into its business models. And the electrification of the vehicle fleet shows that we are on the right track, as around 60 percent of the Post’s 10,500 delivery vehicles, or 6200 vehicles, will be electrically powered.”

Of course, the delivery experts have thoroughly tested the new vehicles in advance. The results are impressive: the vehicles are suitable for numerous stops and easy to handle. Thus, they are the ideal solution for postal workers – initially for use in the city and later also in the outskirts.

100 Percent Swiss Green Electricity

The Post is committed to sustainability: Its goal of reducing CO₂ emissions by at least 25 percent by the end of 2020 was achieved and even exceeded by around 27.6 percent by the end of 2019.

To reaffirm its commitment, the Post joined the international initiative EV100 (Electric Vehicles) in February 2019 as the first Swiss large company. Together with 39 other large companies, it is working to make electric mobility the norm by 2030. The Post’s goal: to electrify around 4600 vehicles up to 3.5 tons for letter and package delivery by 2030. To this end, it is actively pursuing the development of the market for battery-electric delivery vehicles. The Post uses 100 percent Swiss green electricity for its entire electric vehicle fleet.

Title photo: © Swiss Post