This hybrid solution promises last-mile delivery with zero local CO2 emissions

STUTTGART: Mercedes-Benz has unveiled an innovative last-mile delivery concept combining the use of a van and a cargo bike, both of which are electric. The aim is to improve logistics and reduce the carbon footprint of local deliveries.

The concept, dubbed Sustaineer, is the result of a collaboration with the German cargo-bike manufacturer Onomotion.

Here, goods are pre-packed in containers specially adapted to cargo bikes, which can be loaded independently into a van, based on the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, or onto the bike.

Above all, it is possible to load a container from the van to the bike using an adapted lifting arm. This enables containers to be loaded and unloaded quickly, safely and effortlessly.

Transferring the goods takes just a few minutes. In addition to the lifting arm, the modified eSprinter has been fitted with solar panels on the roof above the windscreen, as well as various components made from recycled materials.

Each container offers a load volume of over 2 cubic metres and a payload of up to 200kg. They can be flexibly configured for a variety of applications, from parcel delivery to food delivery to cleaning services. The van can accommodate two such containers. Delivery can then be made with either vehicle.

Parallel delivery with cargo bikes and all-electric vans should shorten delivery times in both urban and rural areas. Ultimately, this concept could serve to inspire possible series-production in future Mercedes-Benz vans.

Last-mile delivery represents a real challenge for the logistics industry. In Europe, giants such as Amazon, DHL and Ikea have already invested in soft mobility options for local deliveries, using electric cargo bikes.

These initiatives aim to reduce the climate footprint of home deliveries. Reducing CO2 emissions is central to the day-to-day business of transport operators, who are now faced with the challenge of the energy transition.

In the US, a number of similar initiatives are already underway, such as the startup URB-E, which provides delivery personnel with e-bike and cargo carts in New York and Los Angeles, or the US Postal Service (USPS), which has tested a method of delivering mail and parcels using electric cargo bikes in Florida.

Another interesting initiative is operating in Prague, in the Czech Republic, where entire depots have been fitted out and dedicated to electric cargo bikes for local deliveries.

This allows several hundred orders to be delivered in an environmentally-friendly way every day. Similar projects are under consideration in London and Copenhagen.