SingPost to begin trial of electric motorcycles

Singapore

SINGPOST is about to begin using two electric motorcycles for mail delivery here, as it looks for ways to clean up its environmental act. The Business Times understands that the company will take delivery of a pair of Iona Rap electric tricycles next week, each with the capacity for up to 50kg of cargo.

The mail and logistics company did not answer specific questions from BT, but a spokesperson said: "SingPost is exploring the use of electric vehicles for delivery and is currently exploring options with various vendors."

The Iona three-wheelers can cover up to 120km and take less than three hours to charge. They can reach just 55km/h, and at roughly S$15,000 apiece without Certificate Of Entitlement, are cost-competitive with the petrol motorcycles that SingPost currently uses, which are made by Italy's Adiva.

The electric bike's dealer, Ifyni Pte Ltd, launched Energica motorcycles in Singapore last month, and compared the battery-powered two-wheelers to Tesla's high performance cars. The company declined to comment for this story.

With fewer moving parts and lower maintenance costs, electric vehicles are generally considered cheaper to operate than combustion ones, but SingPost's trial of the Iona Rap is likely about figuring out whether its range and charging time make it a good fit for the delivery business.

The move is also in line with the company's environmental policy statement, which says that it intends to "explore alternative fuel options".

According to SingPost's sustainability report for FY 2019/2020, the company intends to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 35 per cent by FY2029/2030, compared to how much it released in FY2018/2019.

The report said that nearly a quarter of SingPost's energy consumption in FY2019/2020 was from the petrol and diesel it used for its vehicle fleet and other equipment.

Burning that fuel resulted in 3,700 tonnes of emissions, so switching to electric vehicles would likely make a meaningful dent in the company's overall greenhouse gas output.

If the electric three-wheelers receive SingPost's stamp of approval, expect more to join its fleet.