DHL Express is bringing in 100 pickup and delivery vans to its fleet fueled by propane autogas. The new Ford E-250 cargo vans, each equipped with a ROUSH CleanTech dedicated liquid propane autogas fuel system, will be on the road by late August 2012 and will support DHL Express pickup and delivery service within California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri and Texas. The new alternative fuel vehicles join other propane vehicles already operating for DHL Express in Ohio, Tennessee and Louisiana. They all complement Deutsche Post DHL’s GOGREEN program and its target to improve the company’s worldwide carbon efficiency 30% by 2020, using 2007 levels as a baseline.
DHL Express plans to use existing public refueling infrastructure in addition to adding refueling capability at its service center facilities. The infrastructure for propane autogas is less expensive than any other alternative fuel, and with thousands of stations across the nation, propane autogas already has the largest public refueling infrastructure of all alternative transportation fuel options. The DHL fleet worldwide, including its corporate brands under Deutsche Post DHL, consists of more than 4,000 non-conventional vehicles either powered by alternative fuels or modified for improved fuel-efficiency — including an all “green” fleet in Manhattan with 50 hybrid vans and 30 American-made, battery-powered electric trucks.