The British capital will soon be home to 35 lightweight electric vans.
UPS and Arrival have teamed up to test a fleet zero-emission vans in major cities. Since 2016, UPS has worked with Arrival on a variety of prototypes. Now, those concepts can be tested in real-world scenarios as part of daily parcel delivery.
In a pilot program, 35 state-of the-art vehicles will take to the streets in London and Paris. The initial scheme will begin later in the year. It will allow users to test how they perform in a delivery environment.
Their manufacturer describes the vans as “lightweight composite cars” and they will be able to travel more than 150 miles. This makes them superior to any other comparable options available for companies like UPS. Arrival claims it is the first European commercial vehicle manufacturer to offer purpose-built electric delivery vans to UPS’s specifications, which is a nice thing.
Denis Sverdlov, Arrival CEO, stated, “We are excited to work with UPS to create an affordable modular, fully-electric delivery vehicle that can be used in busy cities.” The unique wraparound front window gives the driver a wider view, which improves safety for both the driver and cyclists.
UPS has used electric vehicles for many years. It claims that the company has been using them since the 1930s. UPS will add the new Arrival lightweight composite vehicles to its existing fleet of ecofriendly vehicles. It already has more than 300 electric vehicles, and almost 700 hybrids. UPS has placed an order for semi-trucks of 125 Tesla Semi trucks, when they are available.