DPD has confirmed that it is now providing an all-electric delivery service to 10 UK towns and cities and has updated its all-electric target to 30 all locations by the end of 2023. 

Oxford became DPD’s first ‘green’ city in July 2021, with a fleet of 40 electric vehicles based at the new Bicester eco-depot

That’s five more than originally planned and two years earlier than expected.  

The parcel delivery firm announced plans in October 2020 to create 25 all-electric towns and cities in the UK by 2025. This was kicked off with Oxford, which became its first ‘green’ city in July 2021, with a fleet of 40 electric vehicles based at the new Bicester eco-depot, delivering over 15,000 parcels a week across the city.  

A further nine additional UK locations have now achieved the same all-electric delivery status, covering Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, Newcastle, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Southampton and Stoke.  

And it’s well on the way for going all-electric by the end of next year at the remaining 15 original green delivery locations: Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, Coventry, Derby, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Sheffield.  

In addition, the firm is now planning for five more towns to become all-electric by the end of 2023, spanning: Birkenhead, Gateshead, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Rotherham and Shipley. 

The company’s investment in EVs in the UK has already passed £90m, including the most recent order of 1,000 Ford E-Transit vans in May 2022, which will take its electric vehicle fleet to over 2,500 in total.   

Elaine Kerr, DPD UK CEO, commented: “I’m absolutely delighted to confirm that we now have 10 UK towns and cities being delivered by an all-electric DPD fleet.  One of our big aims is to be the UK’s most sustainable delivery company and by the end of 2023, we will have over 5,000 EVs on the road and 30 urban centres delivered on all-electric vehicles.” 

Kerr added that the firm had continued to grow its electric fleet year on year, since opening the UK’s first all-electric parcel depot in Westminster in 2018 and despite issues such as the lack of right-hand drive EVs for the UK market.  

“We are now seeing improved availability of larger electric vans, which is what we need,” she added. “As a result, it is fantastic to be able to extend our original pledge to 30 locations and two years earlier than planned.  

“By targeting major town and city centres with our electric vehicles, we can make a significant difference to emissions in those locations and help improve air quality where it is most needed.  In addition to buying the vehicles, and investing in charging infrastructure, we continue to optimise our routing and operation, to create the smartest possible delivery system and reduce our overall miles per parcel.”