German city Stuttgart and parcel firm Hermes have joined forces for a 12-month trial of battery-operated light duty trucks.
The five-vehicle trial aims to examine the zero-emission trucks’ capabilities on typical short-radius duties in the city centre.
The Municipality of Stuttgart will test four 6-tonne Fuso Canter E-Cells: two with hydraulic tipper bodies to be used in road construction and landscaping; and two box-bodied trucks to be used for furniture transport and waste bin delivery tasks.
Hermes will be operating the fifth truck, also a Canter E-Cell, for parcel deliveries.
The parcel firm has been looking at alternative drivelines on its operations to help it achieve its aim of halving the CO2 emissions of its fleet by 2020.
It recently carried out similar urban delivery tests in Berlin and Hamburg in conjunction with Mercedes-Benz using its Vito E-Cell, and in London runs a 100% electric vehicle fleet for inner-city deliveries in a last-mile partnership with Gnwet Cargo.
Stuttgart’s lord mayor, Fritz Kuhn, said: “Sustainable mobility is a key issue for cities and electric mobility is an important element. This is where the Municipality of Stuttgart is showing the way.”
Dirk Rahn, MD for operations at Hermes Logistics Group Germany, said: "We were among the first in the 1990s to test the early electric vehicles under real-world conditions.
"We are similarly proud today to be using the new electric 7.5-tonne truck for our parcel deliveries."
