October 2023: the future of light electric freight vehicles (LEFVs) in city logistics. Presentation for VREF by Walther Ploos van Amstel, professor in city logistics at AUAS.

1. Light electric freight vehicles
Yea or nay?
LESSONS LEARNED FROM USING LEFV’S IN THE NETHERLANDS
WALTHER PLOOS VAN AMSTEL – AUAS
BRAM KIN – TNO / HAN
HANS QUAK – TNO / BUAS
OCTOBER 2023

3. LEFVs in city logistics
Yea or nay?

4. What do experts say?

5. LEFVs in city logistics
Yea or nay?
u Historical perspective
u Theoretical perspective
u Business impact of using LEFVs
u Beyond the hype:
future perspectives

6. Some history
>50% 23% 10-15%

7. Some theory
u Besides, factors that influence the impact on cost-of-using cargo
bikes are:
u Customer
u Operator
u Policymaker
u A decision-making scheme is provided to facilitate network
configuration and fleet composition selection when utilizing cargo
bikes
u Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Electric cargo cycles - A
comprehensive review. Transport Policy, 116, 278-303.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.12.011

8. Some theory…
u Factors influencing the penetration of cargo bikes are:
u Operations
u Vehicular
u Infrastructural
u Workforce
u Organisational
u Policy
u Impacts of E-cargo cycles are categorized as
u Economic
u Environmental
u Societal
u Traffic and safety
u Operational,
u Governance.
u Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Electric cargo cycles - A comprehensive
review. Transport Policy, 116, 278-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.12.011

9. Some theory

10. Research TNO and AUAS
OEMs
Dealer
Users
Lease
companies
Shared mobility
4 OEMs
3 companies offering fleet and lease services
15 active users in Post and Parcel, fresh food,
construction supplies and service logistics (using
4.000 LEFVs today)
EU,
national
and
local
regulations
3 experts from
government and
industry organizations
2 dealer organizations
6 International knowledge institutes and
universities
1 logistics sector
Total market 2022:
12.000 cargo bikes (electric)
1.000 light electric vehicles
2.000 N1 LEFV

11. Users
u Small-scale deployment by some companies just for public image
u Companies that started from scratch with LEFV have now developed a
distribution structure around cities including (micro) hubs (e.g. Cycloon,
Coolblue)
u New delivery concepts from existing companies in the city: quick local deliveries
such as ship-from-store, small deliveries from HoReCA wholesalers and
construction wholesalers and service logistics
u Deployment in (historic) inner cities, car-free residential areas and campuses of
LEFV because of its dimensions and less parking problems (e.g. Amsterdam,
Delft, Groningen, but less so to cities such as Rotterdam and Tilburg)
u Flexible capacity (e.g. Qpark or MeGo) offering shared mobility solutions for
engineers
u Less problems with charging infrastructure and capacity in locations in and
around cities than with electric vans (a temporary problem)

12. Users
u Zero emission zones and 30km/h max speed do not make (especially) LEVV-N1 more
attractive than a van
u In areas where LEFV deployment is interesting, deployment varies by municipality.
Each city can use general local regulations to influence road allocation, access
restrictions and exception positions.
Uncertainty in local regulations complicates the transition to other vehicles and
business models. As a result, the use of LEFV in urban logistics will vary by city
u Operational:
u LEFVs do not offer enough flexibility in operations for most van users, particularly with respect
to distances (a service technician, parcel delivery drivers and construction workers often
take their van home)
u Operational costs: even if price of LEFV drops, monthly costs are still high, particularly due to
space needed for microhubs and high cost of maintenance
u Concerns about comfort and safety among drivers.
u Uncertainty in legislation; locally and nationally
u Finance and leasing companies: residual value of LEFVs is uncertain, making them
difficult to finance

13. Impact of LEFV on business model
Business
issues
Product/market decisions Human talent Service logistics and planning Fleet and charging infrastructure
Strategical Decisions on regional
product/market combinations
and service levels
Collaboration with companies in
the service value chain
Sustainability goals
HRM-policies and
working with self-
employed workers
(national and/or
regional focus)
The service vehicle as an
inventory point
Locations of (micro)hubs and
stock points
Outsourcing service logistics
Strategy for service planning
Vehicle specifications
Contracts with fleet
management partners
Charging strategy and locations
(home, office, hub)
Collaboration in fleet
management and charging
Tactical Planning with partners
Sustainable partnerships
(sourcing)
Customer contact: national,
regional, local
Planning of engineers
including hiring
Planning external
engineers
Car stock levels
Hub stock levels
Supply chain collaboration in
replenishment
Fleet management: vehicle mix
Planning of in- and out phasing
of vehicles
Maintenance planning
Subsidies
Operational Monitoring SLA's Day-to-day planning of
engineers/assigning jobs
Day-to-day ordering of supplies
and parts
Handling returns
Day-to-day planning of vehicles
(including parking)
Charging of vehicles (time and
locations)
Day-to-day maintenance

14. Local policies
u Large differences in policies between Dutch cities: regulating,
stimulating, facilitating
u Position of LEFV on road or bike path depends on:
u Speed and mass
u Introduction of 30km/h
u Crowding and speed difference on bike lanes
u Car-free residential areas and inner cities slowly increasing
u Introduction of zero emission zones are not stimulating LEFV

15. Conclusions
u The market for LEFV will remain relatively small: only 3 to 4% of vans
u As car-free neighborhoods increases and regulations become clear,
there is potential growth in LEFV in parcel and fresh food (B2B and B2C)
u There is a market for pedal-assisted and fully electric (light) LEFV,
especially for new companies and companies that have already set up
a network for this
u Current van users don’t see opportunities to switch to LEFVs: TCO,
services, financing, quality, labor
u With large users, more diversification in vehicle fleets is expected,
consisting of (possibly) a number of LEFV with various types of electric
vans
u LEFV-N1 offers few advantages over a van. LEFV-N1 may slowly be
phased out
u If LEFVs are not the solution… how do we get to zero-impact city
logistics?

16. LEFVs in urban freight
u Just a niche segment
u Technology is available, however only on small scale,
and not mature
u Complex business models for urban freight: lack of
logistics concepts for end-to-end supply chain to use
LEFV profitable
u Regulatory issues no yet solved

17. It’s not a quick fix…

18. Some references
u Díaz-Ramírez, J., Zazueta-Nassif, S., Galarza-Tamez, R., Prato-Sánchez, D., & Huertas, J. I. (2023).
Characterization of urban distribution networks with light electric freight vehicles. Transportation Research
Part D: Transport and Environment, 119, 103719
u van Duin, R., van Amstel, W. P., & Quak, H. (2022). Explaining the growth in light electric vehicles in city
logistics. Innovations in Transport: Success, Failure and Societal Impacts, 188
u Gruber, J., Kihm, A., & Lenz, B. (2014). A new vehicle for urban freight? An ex-ante evaluation of electric
cargo bikes in courier services. Research in Transportation Business & Management 11, 53-62
u Gruber, J., & Narayanan, S. (2019). Travel time differences between cargo cycles and cars in commercial
transport operations. Transportation research record, 2673(8), 623-637
u Lebeau, P., Cok, B., Kees, C., & Macharis, C. (2023). Towards more sustainable vehicles for the last mile?
Cycle logistics as a part of the solution. Handbook on City Logistics and Urban Freight: 0, 178.
u Mooenburgh, E. A., J. H. R. Van Duin, Susanne Balm, M. Van Altenburg, and W. Ploos Van Amstel.
"Logistics concepts for light electric freight vehicles: A multiple case study from the
Netherlands." Transportation Research Procedia 46 (2020): 301-308
u Ploos van Amstel, W., Balm, S., Warmerdam, J., Boerema, M., Altenburg, M., Rieck, F., & Peters, T. (2018).
City logistics: light and electric: LEFV-LOGIC: research on light electric freight vehicles. Publications by
Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences Faculty of Technology, (13)
u Narayanan, S., & Antoniou, C. (2022). Electric cargo cycles - A comprehensive review. Transport Policy,
116, 278-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tranpol.2021.12.011