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“Sustainability, especially the reduction of carbon emissions, is a central aspect of our business and an integral part of our corporate strategy. As the global leader in logistics we are ideally positioned to foster climate protection in order to save our environment for future generations,” said Appel. “As customers worldwide are increasingly demanding greener logistics, sustainable business procedures and initiatives like the one we are launching today will – at the same time – also enhance the profitability of our business.”

The multi-million dollar investment in the modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles is an integral part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group’s global GoGreen strategy, which has the goal of improving the company’s carbon efficiency worldwide by 30 percent by 2020, compared to 2007 base levels. In a large international city like New York, this fleet investment, which dovetails with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s comprehensive plan to lower carbon emissions throughout the city, allows DHL to serve customers with sustainable solutions and improved resource efficiency.

”New Yorkers can have cleaner air and efficient freight delivery, thanks to this effort to reduce the emissions from the delivery trucks our just-in-time economy depends on," said David Bragdon, Director of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability for New York City.

The two types of green vehicles to be used in New York City by DHL Express are being manufactured in the U.S. by Azure Dynamics, a world leader in the development and production of hybrid electric and electric commercial vehicles. Ford Motor Co. has produced the chassis for these vehicles. The Balance Hybrid Electric vehicle components combine Azure’s hybrid powertrain with a Ford E450 chassis. By converting DHL’s existing Ford E450s into hybrids, the vehicle’s fuel economy will improve by up to 40 percent while emissions will be reduced by about 30 percent. Azure will also integrate its Force Drive electric powertrain into new Ford Transit Connect vans. Using an advanced lithium-ion battery, the van can achieve a range of up to 80 miles on a single charge and can be recharged overnight. The Transit Connect Electric is virtually silent, thus reducing exterior and interior noise, and has zero tailpipe emissions.

“Our investment in these new green vehicles supports a more energy-efficient, low-emissions economy,” said Ian Clough, CEO for DHL Express U.S. “Having partnered with American companies also represents an investment in the U.S. economy.”

The new DHL vehicles are part of the company’s comprehensive GoGreen program, which aims at adding fuel-efficient, hybrid, electric or aerodynamically modified vehicles to its fleet worldwide. In the past year, DHL has upgraded its delivery vehicles worldwide, including in several European and Asian countries as well as in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Paraguay in the Americas. In addition to fleet and network optimization, the key levers of Deutsche Post DHL’s GoGreen program are the improvement of the energy efficiency in buildings, the implementation of innovative technologies, the mobilization of employees and the involvement of subcontractors and customers. DHL was the first logistics company worldwide to offer a carbon neutral shipping service to its customers which calculates CO2 emissions produced by the shipment and then offsets them through the support of several external climate protection projects. GoGreen customers receive a statement for their CO2 neutral shipments, which they can use in their own value-added chain. In 2010, DHL sent over a billion GoGreen shipments worldwide, including letters, parcels and express deliveries. The CO2 emissions from the GoGreen shipments are offset 100 percent with investments in external climate projects around the globe.

In the second quarter of 2011, DHL Express U.S. will also launch GoGreen carbon neutral shipping service, joining over 30 other countries in the DHL network that already offer this service.