Renault e-trucks to kickstart Kuehne+Nagel’s decarbonization efforts
Kuehne+Nagel, the logistics company, has received 23 electric trucks from Renault. These 16-tonne trucks, of the type E-Tech D, will be used at eight locations in France. This delivery is just the “first wave” in a bigger electrification effort by Kuehne+Nagel. The company plans to use these trucks on domestic routes, where they can easily service short and mid-range routes.
The new Renault electric trucks are equipped with five 66 kWh battery packs each, giving them a range of up to 235 kilometers. This is ideal for Kuehne+Nagel’s courier services, where trucks cover an average of 180 kilometers daily. The organization anticipates that the implementation of electric vehicles will result in a reduction of 730 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Kuehne+Nagel France operates a widespread groupage network consisting of 56 locations across the country. Most of these routes are of short and medium range, which makes it convenient for electric vehicles to cover them. The French government is implementing new legislation that will prohibit vehicles that emit pollutants from entering cities starting in 2025, in an effort to improve air quality. As part of the preparations for this change, a new fleet of electric vehicles (EVs) is being introduced.
Xavier Léger, Managing Director of Road Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel France, said, “We take pride in being a significant contributor in the transport industry, allowing our clients to decrease emissions from transportation. The transition towards a more environmentally sustainable and energy-efficient future is a challenge that affects us all,” expressed the speaker.
Kuehne+Nagel identifies the primary challenges for electric vehicles in range and infrastructure. Leger suggests that currently, it is more practical to utilize electric vehicles (EVs) for domestic routes rather than international ones due to their limited range and the insufficient availability of charging infrastructure on European highways. While waiting for necessary infrastructure changes to support long-distance travel, Kuehne+Nagel has adopted hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a transitional technology to minimize carbon emissions from road transportation.
According to reports, Renault Trucks aims to have electric trucks make up 50 percent of their sales by 2030 and plans to sell EVs starting in 2040 exclusively. The company was able to achieve a 24.2 percent market share in Europe’s medium- and heavy-duty electric truck segment in 2022. Additionally, in France, Renault Trucks accounted for 75 percent of the medium and heavy-duty electric trucks sold in the country last year.
Kuehne+Nagel has announced its ambition to have electric vehicles make up 60 percent of its global fleet by 2030, as part of its low-emission vehicle strategy. This move by Kuehne+Nagel is a significant step towards sustainable transportation, and it will be exciting to see how they continue to implement and expand their electrification efforts in the future.
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