Australia Post announces e-vehicle trial

Australia Post has announced the trial of a new Australian-built three-wheeled electric delivery vehicle.

Built in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs, the new Stealth OzPOD will service residents in the suburb of Lilydale over a five-week period, as Australia Post tests its features over different terrains in a bid to complement existing electric vehicles in operational use.

Australia Post general manager of network optimization, Mitch Buxton, believes Lilydale is a perfect area to trial the new vehicle, with locals increasingly embracing online shopping and more small parcels being delivered than ever before.

“We know that residents in Lilydale love online shopping. Health and beauty, fashion and media are the most popular purchases among residents in the trial area,” he added.

“The yearly growth rate in Lilydale is higher than the national average, at close to 21%. The area saw almost 79% of households purchasing online in 2018, above the national average of 73%.

“The Stealth OzPOD has been developed over the past 2.5 years and is designed to cater for Australian conditions, with added safety and stability, wet weather, and gradient and surface measures.”

Buxton continued, “As our business continues to transform, we are equipping our posties to deliver more small parcels. In February we announced an order of 1,000 Swiss-built three-wheeled electric delivery vehicles, so this trial is another example of how we are looking at ways to keep our posties delivering for Australians and supporting local manufacturing businesses.”

The Stealth OzPod has an increased carrying capacity of up to 720 liters and can travel up to 50km/h (31mph). Australia Post will use the trial to review the vehicle’s performance and identify where it can be introduced.