When he hit the market, the StreetScooter was a sensation: Because Deutsche Post - so far only known for courageous innovations - did not find any automaker who would have wanted to build their new electric delivery van, they simply developed one themselves (read the Experiences of the founders with the car industry: "They took me for someone from Jugend forscht")
In the meantime, the yellow electric trucks are already part of the cityscape in many major cities. The StreetScooter has also found other customers than the Post, small business owners and craftsmen, for example. Swiss Post has announced plans to set up a production facility in China, and the US is also in talks. By 2021, series production is expected to reach up to 100,000 vehicles per year.
Until then, however, there is still a long way to go: So far, the Post subsidiary has brought about 12,000 street scooters on the road. However, it operates the majority of it itself, 10,000 E-trucks are on the way in the parcel and letter delivery. This is advantageous for the CO2 balance of the postal fleet as a whole.
Load faster, load more
However, it could also restrict Post's room for maneuver as far as the future scenarios of the StreetScooter are concerned. The Bonn-based group has stated that it does not want to permanently invest in vehicle construction - but wants to concentrate on its core business. In the short to medium term, buyers or investors are sought. However, the postal service has apparently so far found no interested parties, whom they not only trusted to pay an acceptable price - but who would also be able to operate the StreetScooter permanently reliably. That is because the group is also dependent because now one-fifth of its entire delivery fleet is electrically powered and the vehicles have to be maintained and repaired.
One reason for the lack of attractive takeover offers could also be the business figures. The StreetScooter has brought the post office a lot of prestige, but otherwise mainly losses. They have recently come down to a "significant double-digit million amount," said post chief Frank Appel recently.
In Berlin, StreetScooter has now introduced refurbished versions of the vehicle earlier this week. The new models can load faster (up to 80 percent in five hours) and load up to a ton of 300 kilos more freight than before. For added comfort there is also air conditioning. The range remains the same with 160 kilometers.
So the StreetScooter should be more attractive, for buyers - and for potential takeover interested parties.
