How the evolving last-mile delivery landscape is driving advancements in LCVs?

Last year, global retail e-commerce traffic stood at 22 billion monthly visits, with exceptionally high demand not only for everyday essentials , but also for discretionary items. Today, shopping is one of the most popular online activities worldwide and e-commerce sales are projected to grow to USD 6.54 trillion in 2021. But last-mile delivery is not only growing, it is also fundamentally changing and driving innovation in LCVs, thanks to three main trends:

1. Ultra-low emission zones: The implementation of ever more – and stricter – ultra low emission zones (ULEZs) in cities across Europe is continuously strengthening the business case for the eLCV, and driving rapid innovation in eLCV technology. Companies cannot afford to run the risk of being unable to enter a city centre to conduct their core business activities. Whilst today’s ICE (internal combustion engine) LCVs, which are cleaner than older diesel are petrol models, are still allowed in many city centres, the increasing speed with which new ULEZs are being introduced means that eLCVs are unquestionably the future.

2. Local and sustainable ‘city hubs’: The shift towards e-commerce, growing consumer demand for local products, and increasing pressure to cut emissions (due to widespread concern about climate change and related regulation) are all driving innovation in last-mile delivery logistics. In particular, we are seeing the emergence of new ‘city hubs’ – essentially distribution hubs based on the outskirts of major cities – from which products can be delivered to their final destination. In addition, these hubs increasingly offer opportunities for vehicle charging and act as a service point for the growing number of eLCVs in other sectors beyond last-mile delivery.

3. Big data and digital applications for an optimized delivery process: Real-time insights and information from the LCV are crucial to optimize last-mile delivery fulfilment processes. As a result, leading last-mile delivery companies are increasingly using LCV-generated data to perform predictive analysis as a way of improving their profitability and competitiveness. This is one example of a best practice that can be adapted by other sectors operating LCV fleets.

For more details and the full report about how online shopping boom transforms the industry of LCVs read our blog and download the report from here.