e-bikes to e-trucks, Kuehne+Nagel teams up with Riese&Müller
During the height of COVID-19, bike sales soared, as people spent time outside and exercised in a way which also allowed them to see friends in a secure and socially distanced manner.
Just like with toilet paper, a rise in popularity of the product saw a shortage of e-bikes as a result. However, Riese & Müller kept producing e-bikes throughout lockdown, supplying them to stores across Europe, with Kuehne+Nagel as their logistics partner.
Now, the pair turn their attention to e-trucks.
E-bikes distributed in e-trucks
Founded in 1993 by Markus Riese and Heiko Müller, Riese & Müller now employs close to 900 people and sells its products worldwide.
The company partnered with Kuehne+Nagel, a business known for delivering items in a short timeline.
As well as being a cyclist’s utopia, Europe has a huge truck market. In order to bring those emissions down, Kuehne+Nagel has introduced an electric truck exclusively dedicated to serving Riese & Müller. The truck is set to cover approximately 300 kms each day, shuttling between Riese & Müller's manufacturing hub and Kuehne+Nagel's warehouse, where the e-bikes are prepared for distribution.
- Limited driving range
- Payload restrictions
- A lack of charging infrastructure.
Reducing transport emissions with electric trucks
Tobias Jerschke, Managing Director at Kuehne+Nagel, said that the company is always delighted when customers are so impressed with their work, that they want to work alongside Kuehne+Nagel.
For Tobias, it was clear that putting electric trucks on the road together with Riese & Müller will be an impactful way to reduce transport emissions from road freight.
“With this investment, Riese & Müller and Kuehne+Nagel are sending a strong signal: that we take decarbonisation seriously,” Tobias said. “It requires our team to look at those parts of that customer’s operations where it is feasible and efficient, like the leg between Darmstadt and Mainz. Sometimes we need to install additional charging stations like we did recently in Mainz.”
“We have a long and trusting partnership with Kuehne+Nagel and are therefore delighted that we are taking the next step towards sustainable logistics together,” said Sebastian Leschinger, Head of Supply Chain at Riese & Müller. “With the new electric truck, which will be used exclusively for all deliveries from our site to the distribution centre, we are taking another important step towards becoming the most sustainable company in the e-bike industry.”
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