Posti has introduced a delivery truck that has been converted from diesel to electric for its delivery services. The truck is the only used diesel truck in Finland that has been converted from diesel to electric and that is in freight transport traffic use.
Post already has hundreds of electric vehicles in various sizes ranging from vans to delivery and heavy trucks. The conversion is expected to facilitate the introduction of electric vehicles, especially medium and heavy-duty electric vehicles, also in smaller companies. The cost of converting a truck is currently roughly half the price of a new electric truck. This price is expected to fall further.
"Post has a strict target of using only electric, biogas and hydrogen vehicles in less than six years' time. Our goal of fossil-free transport also applies to our transport partners. Converted trucks can be a very important tool in the near future for the renewal of our heavy transport fleet to become fossil-free," says Ari Olli, VP, Corporate Delivery Services, Posti.
"If the tests now being carried out in Post's production facility prove that the vehicle is reliable, we believe that in Finland alone, transport companies have the potential to convert hundreds of vehicles to electric."
There are also benefits from the circular economy: when diesel trucks that have already been manufactured once and are a few years old are given a new life as electric trucks, emissions from the manufacturing phase of the new electric truck body are essentially eliminated. Old engines can also be reused elsewhere, either as such or as components.
The 2016 model delivery truck used by Posti was fitted with a 200 kW permanent magnet motor and a 150 kWh LFP battery. The estimated consumption of the vehicle is 70 kWh/100 km in summer and approximately 110 kWh/100 km in winter. Depending on the temperature and the use of heating, the operating range is about 150 km. The delivery truck is designed for urban deliveries.
The battery can be preheated by a liquid cycle. The maximum capacity of the DC charging is 150 kWh, which ensures fast charging if needed. That also helps in delivery tasks The cab is equipped with a touchscreen for driving and power line control. The cab and load space are electrically heated. The vehicle is not equipped with a gearbox.
The car is part of the SIX HOVE innovation cluster on electric heavy transport, coordinated by VTT, which aims to boost electric heavy transport as a result of multi-channel cooperation. The car is equipped with a VTT-installed trip computer that collects a wide range of data on the use of the car. The data will be used to develop systems and electronic logistics management.
The implementation, technology and conversion of the vehicle ordered by Posti was carried out by eTrucks.fi together with Keulink. The truck is currently being used for delivery tasks in Tampere.