DHL Express, the express delivery arm of global postal giant Deutsche Post DHL Group, plans to deploy 89 Lightning Electric Ford Transit 350HD electric vans this year in New York and California. The deployment follows an initial pilot program in the U.S. last year using nine of the same vans, manufactured by Lightning eMotors.

The new electric vehicles can achieve 61 MPGe compared to 13 mpg for similar gas-powered vans, the companies said in a statement on March 24. The vans also include proprietary telematics and analytics software to aid with route optimization, driver training, and vehicle efficiencies. 

The alternative-fuel vehicle fleet for DHL Express in the U.S. already includes fully electric, hybrid-electric, and clean diesel models, as well as e-cargo bikes. DHL also began piloting four electric tractor-trailer vehicles in the Los Angeles market to haul goods to and from the DHL LAX Gateway and local service centers.

On March 22, Deutsche Post DHL Group announced an accelerated roadmap to decarbonization, which includes investing 7 billion euros over the next 10 years to reduce its CO2 emissions. 

Lightning eMotors designs and manufactures zero-emission-vehicle (ZEV) solutions for commercial fleets, including Class 3 cargo and passenger vans, Class 4 and 5 cargo vans and shuttle buses, Class 6 work trucks, school buses, Class 7 city buses, and Class A motor coaches.

After recently moving its headquarters and expanding its square footage, in January Lightning eMotors added another 107,000 square feet on its headquarters campus for a total of 231,000 square feet of space for operations.

The company announced the hiring of a new chief procurement officer, Steve Ivsan, in March.