Rhenus News

Rhenus Home Delivery uses electric vehicles from Quantron for micro-depots

Rhenus Home Delivery is the European market leader in 2-man handling for heavy/bulky goods during the last mile. The company is now expanding its fleet with seven fully electric vans with bodywork that includes a tail lift; they will in future be deployed at its inner-city micro-depots, which the company uses to supply its customers. The vehicles were developed by Quantron AG together with B. Göbel & Sohn GmbH on behalf of the logistics specialist. Rhenus has already taken delivery of the first van.

The vehicles not only meet the conditions for emission-free operations, but are also designed to enable quick and easy loading and unloading processes in order to optimise delivery procedures. Rhenus Home Delivery uses the micro-depots as intermediate storage facilities in inner-city areas; the cargo is consolidated there before being supplied to customers so that the number of individual journeys is kept as low as possible.  

Jonas von Frieling, Head of the Innovation Hub at Rhenus Home Delivery and Rhenus High Tech, comments, ‘We opted for Quantron at Rhenus Home Delivery because, when we launched the “Micro-Depot” project, it very quickly became clear that we wanted to build a vehicle that didn’t yet exist in the market. We therefore looked for partners that wished to cooperate with us and accompany us on this journey.’

Quantron AG, which is a technology company specialising in sustainable passenger and goods transport, was responsible for the electrical equipment on board the vehicles during the development work for this innovative electric van. B. Göbel & Sohn GmbH handled the work of integrating the electric/hydraulic scissor lift. The latter makes it possible to quickly load and unload the special swap body containers used for the micro-depots and transport them safely. The new QUANTRON QLI BEV 7.2 t is already enabling Rhenus Home Delivery to make simple and emission-free deliveries directly to customers from its inner-city micro-depots.

René Wollmann, the CTO and designated CEO at Quantron AG, adds, ‘We’re really delighted that Rhenus Home Delivery selected us and Göbel as its implementation partners to realise its idea. The first vehicle is already operating in a test phase and we’re looking forward to fulfilling the next steps with Rhenus Home Delivery and Göbel in order to improve this concept and continue developing it within the context of being co-creators.’