Swiss Post and Austrian Post pledge to fully electrify fleets by 2030

The EV agenda is a current focus of the Geneva Motor Show

Led by non-profit The Climate Group, the EV100 initiative aims to “make electrified transport the new normal” within the next decade by supporting businesses to make the EV switch.

Swiss Post and Austrian post are two of the scheme’s four new additions, unveiled today (4 March) at the Geneva Motor Show. Portuguese energy company EDP and New Zealand’s largest power firm Meridian Energy have also joined the initiative, with the four companies set to collectively switch 22,000 petrol and diesel vehicles for electric alternatives within the next 11 years.

In total, 9,000 of these vehicles will belong to Austrian Post, which has been offering a carbon-neutral delivery service since 2011. The firm already owns more than 1,600 electric bikes, mopeds and cars.

“As the country’s leading logistics company, we want to leverage the public’s familiarity with us to show that e-mobility works well in our regular operations and is also profitable,” Austrian Post’s chief executive Georg Polzl said.

“Our joining the EV100 initiative and the objective of having 100% e-vehicles on the last mile by 2030 comprise a logistical step on our journey towards CO2-free and pollution-free logistics.”

“With logistics companies operating some of the world’s biggest delivery fleets, these businesses are well placed to accelerate the switch to electric vehicles, tackle climate change and reduce air pollution in cities,” The Climate Group’s chief executive Helen Clarkson added.

The Geneva Motor Show, which will run from Thursday (7 March) to Sunday (11 March) after three press-only days, is expected to serve as a platform for the likes of Honda, Volkswagen, Kia and Mercedes-Benz to launch new EVs and other low-carbon mobility products.

Taking charge

The additions to the EV100 initiative come shortly after The Climate Group published its first annual progress report on the scheme, which revealed that it had spurred the adoption of 10,000 low-carbon vehicles to date.

As of February, the 31 companies taking part in the EV100, which includes the likes of BTIkea and Unilever, had collectively pledged to electrify more than 145,000 vehicles by 2030, the report claimed.

In total, The Climate Group is aiming to support the uptake of two million fully-electric and hybrid-electric vehicles by businesses across the world by 2030.

The report also documented the key drivers of – and barriers to – EV adoption among corporates, concluding that corporate demand for low-carbon transport is beginning to outstrip charging infrastructure provisions. This claim echoes the findings of a recent PwC study, which found that the UK’s EV stock has almost doubled each year between 2011 and 2017, despite a compound annual growth rate of just 44% for charging infrastructure installations during this period.

As for drivers, cutting air pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating financial savings were cited by EV100 members as top reasons for electrifying their business’s respective fleets.

Sarah George

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