Johannesburg, South Africa, June 12, 2023 - FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, today announced the deployment of its first 10 electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa, as part of the company’s continuing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and promote sustainable logistics.
Introducing EVs in South Africa marks an important milestone for FedEx, as the company works towards its goal to transform its entire global pickup and delivery fleet to zero-emission electric vehicles by 2040. To achieve this, FedEx Express will purchase 50% of its new vehicles as electric by 2025 and 100% of purchases will be electric by 2030. In 2021, FedEx conducted EV trials in South Africa to test the vehicle’s technology and assess its operational effectiveness on a standard route fully loaded with packages.
The EVs introduced into the FedEx fleet in South Africa are ‘MAXUS eDeliver 3’ which have zero-tailpipe emissions, and on a full charge have a delivery capacity of 240 kilometres operational range.
“For decades FedEx has been committed to sustainability. The adoption of these electric vehicles represents another step towards reducing our environmental impact and achieving carbon-neutral operations,” says Natasha Parmanand, managing director of FedEx Express Sub-Saharan Africa operations. “With the explosion of e-commerce, transforming our operations to be more sustainable is now more important than ever. We believe that this investment in EV technology will not only benefit the environment but also improve the efficiency of our operations, and ultimately provide a better service to our customers,” adds Natasha.
In 2003, FedEx was the first delivery company in the world to use hybrid vehicles for pickup and delivery, and in 1994 the company used its first electric vehicle – an acid battery-powered vehicle – in California. FedEx has been a vocal advocate for improved fuel efficiency standards and policies to support the commercial deployment of alternative-fuel vehicles.