DHL Express Expands Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fleet

DHL Express will add 100 propane-powered pickup and delivery vans to existing fleet of more than 4,000 alternative fuel vehicles by August 2012.

The new Ford E-250 cargo vans, each equipped with a ROUSH CleanTech dedicated liquid propane autogas fuel system, 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 percent by 2020, using 2007 levels as a baseline.

Through the use of propane autogas, each alternative fuel vehicle saves over 22,587 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. Propane autogas is a low carbon fuel that reduces greenhouse gases by up to 25 percent, carbon monoxide by up to 60 percent, nitrogen oxide by 20 percent and virtually eliminates particulate matter when compared to conventional fuels. In addition, non-toxic propane does not harm soil or groundwater.

DHL said it chose liquid propane for its latest alternative vehicle investment because it has a larger public infrastructure than many other methods with thousands of fueling stations across the United States. That compares with less than 500 public stations for natural gas, according to federal estimates.

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.