FedEx Express UK Grows Its London Fleet Of E-Cargo Delivery Bikes – CleanTechnica

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Replacing delivery vans that run on diesel or gasoline with electric vehicles is a key step along the way to a low carbon future. However, an electric delivery van takes up the same amount of space as a fossil-fueled van both on the road and when parked, which is why small electric vehicles are going to play a big role in last-mile deliveries in the near future.

Electric cargo bikes can be big part of the solution, especially enclosed models that keep both the driver and the load out of the weather, and ones which feature a lot of cargo space, such as the EAV 2Cubed and other 4-wheeled cargo e-bikes (e-quads?). And e-cargo bikes are not only cleaner and quieter than their ICE-powered counterparts, but it turns out they can often be quicker as well, while costing ten times less.

We’ve recently seen UPS trialing e-quads, and IKEA using solar-powered e-trikes, and a recent announcement from FedEx Express UK is just more confirmation that urban logistics companies are looking seriously at electric micromobility. The company just added eight more 4-wheeled e-cargo bikes to its London fleet, where they will join the electric cargo bikes that it already operates in the UK.

“With these newest e-cargo bikes we further grow our fleet of e-cargo bikes in London, enabling us to deliver to our customers in an efficient and more environmentally conscious way. Besides the ability to take faster routes through the city, the use of e-cargo bikes also removes vehicle tailpipe emissions from last-mile delivery, which makes them a favoured last-mile solution in congested or restricted urban areas.” — Rob Peto, Vice President Operations UK, FedEx Express

According to FedEx, EAV (Electric Assisted Vehicles Ltd) worked with the company to develop and test new models of its e-cargo bikes, which was underwritten by a £150,000 award from the Department for Transport under the Freight Innovation Fund program. Adding these 8 new e-cargo bikes is said to be the equivalent of replacing 6 diesel vans, which will help avoid an estimated 22,000 kg of CO2 emissions per year.

The announcement didn’t give any more information about the new cargo bikes, other than that they could haul up to 170 kg and have a range of “over 45 miles” per charge, but it seems to be a safe bet to assume that they are a new and improved version of the company’s 2Cubed model.