DP-DHL's electric vehicles are already joining the fleets of third-party delivery services, which the group expects to account for half of this year's StreetScooter annual total sales. DP-DHL anticipates more orders to roll in from municipal authorities, strategic partners and large fleet customers in Germany and the rest of Europe.

The company currently has about 2,500 vehicles in its StreetScooter fleet, and plans to double that number by the end of 2017.

The scooters are effective for urban letter and parcel deliveries partly due to their size and maneuverability — and because they don’t add to emissions in congested urban centers, the company says. As more cities ban or tax vehicle traffic in urban cores, the DP-DHL model will make increasing sense.

“The large demand for the StreetScooter and our own ambitious climate-protection goals have encouraged us to further expand our commitment in the area of electro-mobility and to also make our expertise available to others,” said Jürgen Gerdes, board member at Deutsche Post DHL Group. The prices for the StreetScooter start at €32,000 ($33,975) for the basic “Work Pure” version. The next-largest delivery vehicle, which has a load volume of approximately 20 cubic meters (“Work XL”), is expected to be available in early 2018, after which it will be sold externally.

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