SINGAPORE – Parcel delivery giant FedEx has bought 31 electric vehicles (EVs) to replace retired diesel vans among its delivery vehicles.

       With the addition of the electric vans, EVs now account for 22 per cent of FedEx’s 141-strong delivery fleet here, and make about 28 per cent of its deliveries.

       The remaining 110 diesel vans will be replaced progressively once the vehicles reach the end of their lifespans, FedEx said at the official launch of the EVs at its South Pacific Regional Hub in Changi on Nov 22.

       Mr Eric Tan, FedEx’s Singapore managing director, estimated that its entire delivery fleet here would be fully electric in five years.

       The new EVs are Mercedes-Benz eVito 112 delivery vans that have been custom-built for FedEx, with a load capacity of up to 923kg.

       A fully charged vehicle has a range of up to 321km, and will save about 148 tonnes of tailpipe emissions per year compared with diesel vans.

       Singapore is the first market within FedEx’s Asia-Pacific business to deploy the custom-built Mercedes-Benz vans.

       By signing up, I accept SPH Media's Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.

       Instead of a typical cargo door that swings out from the top, FedEx’s EVs have barn doors that open outwards from the centre and can be hinged open 270 degrees to be parallel to the sides of the vans.

       This makes for more efficient loading and unloading, as it creates space for a forklift to manoeuvre much closer to the back of the van.

       FedEx declined to disclose the cost of the EVs when asked by The Straits Times.

       Some of FedEx’s rivals started electrifying their fleets from as early as 2022. They include logistics company DHL Express, which leased 80 electric vans from ComfortDelGro Rent-A-Car that year after an earlier pilot with 10 such vans.

       Smaller players are also ahead of the game. Ninja Van, for instance, launched its first 10 EVs as part of a trial here in 2022.

       When asked why FedEx was slower to electrify, Mr Tan said the company had been looking to buy, and not lease, EVs.

       He said FedEx owns its global ground fleet of more than 220,000 vehicles, and Singapore is no exception. He added that the company tested different makes and models of EVs for over a year before settling on the Mercedes-Benz model.

       “When we purchase a vehicle, it’s for the long term, so we wanted to be sure what really worked for us before we jumped into it,” he said.

       To support the new EVs, 31 alternating current chargers, each providing up to 11 kilowatt-hours of charging power, will be installed at FedEx’s facility by the end of January 2025, a FedEx spokesperson said. A full charge will take about 5？ hours.

       FedEx will set up the necessary power grid infrastructure to support up to 150 EV chargers at its hub in Singapore in the future, to prepare for the electrification of other vehicles, such as aircraft maintenance vehicles.

       For now, FedEx has two temporary chargers on site, and also juices up its EVs “by tapping into Shell and Charge+’s extensive network of chargers across Singapore”, Mr Tan said. These charging networks are open for use to the public.

       FedEx also announced that its 282,700 sq ft hub will soon use solar energy to meet more than half of the facility’s total electricity demands. Mr Tan said the installation of solar panels is under way and will be completed in January 2025.

       These solar panels can help to power the 31 EV chargers, a FedEx spokesperson said.