National postal companies Swiss Post and Austrian Post have committed to electrify their delivery fleets by 2030. The national companies have joined the global electric vehicles initiative EV100 which aims to make electric transport the new normal by 2030.

EV100 is led by The Climate Group, the international non-profit focused on accelerating climate action. Other new members are Portugal’s EDP and New Zealand’s Meridian Energy.

Together, the four companies will switch 22,000 fossil-fuel vehicles to electric. With two out of three new cars in Europe being sold to the private sector, business commitments to electric vehicles send a clear signal of demand for EVs to automakers.

Austrian Post is the largest logistics business in Austria. The company already operates the largest electric vehicle fleet in the country and will switch more than 9,000 vehicles to electric as part of EV100. Committing to go fully electric through EV100 will drive innovation and ensure long-term competitive advantage for the business.

Post CH Ltd (a subsidiary of Swiss Post) will switch more than 10,000 vehicles to electric under EV100. To accelerate climate action and to reach carbon neutral delivery, Post CH sees investing in a modern fleet of vehicles with energy-efficient, alternative drive systems and a well-designed logistics strategy as key.

Post CH has already electrified its mail delivery fleet consisting of 6,000 electric three-wheeled vehicles and now wants to switch 4,600 delivery vans (up to 3.5t) and 180 service vehicles to EVs by 2030, if market supply and operating and real estate conditions allow.

EDP has committed to switch a fleet of more than 3000 vehicles to electric. This transition has already begun and will now be accelerated to reduce CO₂ emissions by 70%.

Meridian Energy will switch its fleet of 35 vehicles to EVs and install charging facilities at its offices. The company already operates a 50% electric fleet and sees a strong business case.

The EV fleet costs Meridian Energy the same in capital expenditure as its previous fossil fuel fleet, has lower running costs and higher residual values. On average, the company is saving around US$ 3400 (NZ$ 5000) a year on maintenance and fuel costs for each vehicle.

With these and other commitments from a growing number of international businesses such as Deutsche Post DHL and LeasePlan, The Climate Group is seeing the electrification of more than two million vehicles by 2030 through its EV100 initiative.

A recent report from The Climate Group on the impact of the EV100 initiative so far revealed that cutting air pollution, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and generating financial savings are among the top drivers for business switch to EVs.