DHL has put eight Mercedes-Benz eActros 600 battery-electric trucks into operation in Germany under a partnership with commercial vehicle lessor Hylane, expanding its original order to 42 vehicles and marking the first time Hylane has rented out battery-electric trucks.
Six of the trucks have been deployed at DHL’s parcel centre in Dorsten, near Düsseldorf, with two additional vehicles operating from a site in Hamburg, DHL said. The remaining 34 trucks are scheduled for delivery by the end of the second quarter of 2026.
“The new, low-emission electric trucks are directly supporting our CO₂-reduced parcel transport during the busiest shipping season ahead of Christmas,” said Frank Blümer, branch manager for Post & Parcel in Dorsten. He added that the vehicles demonstrate DHL’s commitment to lowering its carbon footprint.
The agreement between DHL, Hylane and Daimler Truck was first disclosed in mid-2025 and represented a strategic expansion for Cologne-based Hylane, which had previously focused exclusively on hydrogen-powered trucks. Founded in 2021, Hylane built a fleet of around 100 hydrogen trucks before adding battery-electric vehicles to its offering in June as part of the DHL deal.
See also: DHL Supply Chain Puts First Tesla Semi Into Service After U.S. Pilot Programme
“For us, this is not a departure from hydrogen, but a strategic addition,” said Sara Schiffer, managing director of Hylane. She said the increase in DHL’s order to 42 vehicles underscored progress toward zero-emission heavy-duty transport. “With reliable, practical, and cost-effective solutions, we are supporting the decarbonisation of heavy-duty transport,” she added.
Hylane operates a “transport as a service” model, under which customers do not purchase vehicles but pay based on kilometres driven. DHL said this approach allows it to deploy electric trucks more quickly, avoiding long delivery lead times.
See also: DHL Switches On First High-Power Electric Truck Charging Hub in Germany
Marc Hitschfeld, chief operating officer of DHL’s Post & Parcel Germany division, said the cooperation with Hylane and Daimler Truck was “an important milestone on our path to electrifying our truck fleet,” adding that it reflected DHL’s ambitions in logistics electrification.
The new eActros 600 trucks will supplement DHL’s existing fleet of 17 electric trucks, around 450 CNG trucks, and approximately 35,000 electric vans used for last-mile delivery. DHL also operates more than 40,000 charging points and ten CNG filling stations, and recently began construction of its first dedicated e-truck charging park.