Johannesburg, South Africa, June 12, 2023 - FedEx Express,a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largestexpress transportation company, today announced the deployment ofits first 10 electric vehicles (EVs) in South Africa, as part ofthe company’s continuing efforts to reduce its carbon footprint andpromote sustainable logistics.
Introducing EVs in South Africa marks an important milestone forFedEx, as the company works towards its goal totransform its entire global pickup and delivery fleet tozero-emission electric vehicles by 2040. To achieve this, FedExExpress will purchase 50% of its new vehicles as electric by 2025and of purchases will be electric by 2030. In 2021, FedExconducted EV trials in South Africa to test thevehicle’s technology and assess its operational effectiveness on astandard 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 afull charge have a delivery capacity of 240 kilometres operationalrange.
“For decades FedEx has been committed to sustainability. Theadoption of these electric vehicles represents another step towardsreducing our environmental impact and achieving carbon-neutraloperations,” says Natasha Parmanand, managing director of FedExExpress Sub-Saharan Africa operations. “With the explosion ofe-commerce, transforming our operations to be more sustainable isnow more important than ever. We believe that this investmentin EV technology will not only benefit the environmentbut also improve the efficiency of our operations,and ultimately provide a better service to ourcustomers,” adds Natasha.
In 2003, FedEx was the first delivery company in the world touse hybrid vehicles for pickup and delivery, and in 1994 thecompany used its first electric vehicle – an acid battery-poweredvehicle – in California. FedEx has been a vocal advocate forimproved fuel efficiency standards and policies to support thecommercial deployment of alternative-fuel vehicles.