Does the introduction of small electric cargo vehicles into a logistics concept for last mile delivery of parcels and groceries in urban areas reduce its environmental impact ?

Abstract

The presented investigation analysed the environmental impact of introducing electric cargo vehicles into logistics concepts for last mile delivery of parcels and groceries in urban areas. In order to evaluate the environmental impact of substituting an electric cargo vehicle as e.g. an electric light duty vehicle (LDV), a batterv-electric passenger car (BEV) or an e-cargobike for a diesel light duty vehicle, a comparison based on a simplified Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) was conducted. Data from existing LCA studies of vehicles were combined with information on the actual transport service, i.e. the average cargo weight of vehicles. The expected change of the four chosen indicators cumulated primary energy consumption (for energy efficiency), CO2 equivalents (for climate impact), NOx and PM (for air quality) and noise level was estimated. Results show that application of all investigated electric cargo vehicles has a potential to reduce the environmental impact of the logistics chain and that application of e-cargobikes has an especially high reduction potential.