FedEx Office Pilots Ford E-Transit Vans for Same-Day Delivery
FedEx Office is piloting the use of Ford E-Transit electric vans in nine markets for its same-day delivery services.
The company will use 10 of the vans in its FedEx SameDay City network as it works toward transitioning its entire pickup and delivery fleet to zero-emissions vehicles by 2040. That goal aligns with the overall fleet electrification target for FedEx.
The Ford E-Transit has a targeted range of 126 miles on a single charge, which FedEx Office says makes it ideal for local courier delivery. FedEx Office, a subsidiary of FedEx, has installed charging stations dedicated to the vehicles at each van’s home location and will supplement these with remote charging stations as needed to meet vehicle needs along each route.
The markets are located throughout the United States and offer a variety of road and weather conditions, FedEx Office says. The test markets are Chicago; Chandler, Arizona; Newark, California; Madison Heights, Michigan; Boca Raton, Florida; Clearwater, Florida; Allen, Texas; and Frisco, Texas.
FedEx Office will be the first to test the Ford E-Transit for FedEx. The FedEx SameDay City programme is a local shipping option that offers delivery of time-sensitive parcels in as little as a few hours.
Another FedEx subsidiary, FedEx Express, received 150 electric delivery vehicles from General Motors business BrightDrop, also for last-mile services in California. A 2022 Research and Markets report says there could be nearly 680,000 electric commercial vehicles worldwide by 2026.
Frito-Lay began piloting a Ford E-Transit truck for local delivery in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has plans to add 40 more of the vehicles later this year. Ford also has recent agreements with United Rentals and Reynolds American to use E-Transit vehicles as part of those companies’ electric fleet transitions.
FedEx Office is also testing same-day, last-mile automated delivery. The company says the bot, called Roxo, could help delivery systems become more sustainable by keeping vehicles off the road, thus reducing emissions.
“FedEx SameDay City is a perfect use-case for testing the capabilities of the Ford E-Transit,” says FedEx Office President and CEO Brian Philips. “With the vehicle’s range and the availability of charging infrastructure, we are excited to see how this vehicle performs in our operation and helps us understand the path forward to scale an electrification strategy for FedEx Office.”
Source: Environmental Leader
