Spijkstaal in the Financieel Dagblad
A slew of electric company cars and delivery bikes would give inner cities a complete makeover. But with the introduction of zero-emission zones getting really close, there is no sign yet of a boom in electric transportation.
With a sharp turn, the bright blue Spijkstaal cart spins past a road break and whizzes down the Voorstraat in Spijkenisse. Until noon, vehicles are still allowed into the village center to deliver goods and merchandise. A little further down the shopping street, the electric truck encounters a large diesel van belonging to a package delivery company. The two can just pass each other.
'This is exactly the issue. The centers are getting crowded with vans, space is limited. That's what these small, compact vans are for,' says Spijkstaal's deputy director Geoffrey Jacobs. The company - originally from Spijkenisse, but now based a few kilometers away in Hoogvliet - has been making electric vehicles, such as the former mobile SRV supermarket, for eighty years.
Since last summer, the company has been selling a so-called light electric vehicle for freight transport, the Iona xs, which is fast enough to drive on the Amsterdam or Rotterdam ring road, for example, but which can also travel the last mile, the last leg to the store or the customer in areas where soon only vehicles that do not emit pollutants will be allowed. They are intended for city business owners, such as florists and bakers, who currently drive vans.
Growth market
Still, sales are not yet falling. About sixty of them are now on the road. In a warehouse in Rotterdam's Waalhaven, another 55 electric cars are ready for immediate delivery. 'We had counted on 10% growth, but we are not yet achieving that,' says Jacobs.
He is not worried about that. Spijkstaal is particularly strong in the electric trolleys and tractors that drive around airports, auctions and large factories. Urban logistics is a growth market for the company, and that requires patience. 'I expect it to go fast from the second quarter of 2025. Then the zero-emission zones will be in place in several municipalities and hopefully the uncertainty from the government will be gone.' He is counting on an order from a supermarket chain and expects much from a cooperation with leasing company Ayvens, which has included the Spijkstaal-LEV in its offering.
Continuing uncertainty
The hype around mini cars, electric cargo bikes and other zero-emission means of transport seems to be over already. In the Netherlands, there is still much uncertainty about whether and how you can use light electric vehicles (LEV). Small trucks are just allowed on the road, but for other small electric vehicles a set of rules is in the works. Those rules have been delayed, and the continuing uncertainty is, for now, inhibiting the commitment to urban distribution, which would be helped by fewer large, polluting vehicles.
The wrangling around the introduction of zero-emission zones does not help either. As of 2025, fourteen municipalities will introduce such zones, nineteen others will follow later. But PVV State Secretary Chris Jansen of Public Transport and Environment wants a longer transition period and that no fines will be handed out next year, to the anger of the municipalities.
The government's lack of clarity is certainly an inhibiting factor, says Roy Driessen, segment director of commercial vehicles at leasing company Ayvens. 'Every time the secretary of state issues another statement, and municipalities respond to it, the phone is red-hot for us. Not only from small entrepreneurs, but also from the big corporates.' According to Driessen, it is precisely the pioneers who have already invested in an electric fleet who feel aggrieved now that just before the introduction of the zero-emission zones, they are being fiddled with.
This year, only about 10% of the 68,000 newly registered commercial vehicles in the Netherlands are electric. Driessen sees "many entrepreneurs opting for a clean diesel one last round, which will allow them to enter the zero-emission zones for a few more years. Moreover, the bpm exemption on vans for entrepreneurs will expire next year. He does expect the transition to electric and compact to take off in the coming years.
Busier and carless
Hague-based transport company Hubbel, which has more than 20 electric vans, loading vans and trucks, has had to adapt. It has grown fast in corona time with orders from Rituals, MediaMarkt and SMEs. 'We had expected that demand after corona would slow down a bit, but we were back to square one,' says co-founder Robert Medenblik. 'The emission-free delivery that was still there was done with bicycle couriers.'
These days, the company no longer emphasizes zero-emission delivery, but instead focuses on businesses that are noticing that the city is getting busier and more car-free. It now brings stuff into town for facilities management companies, IT companies and other customers. "That has been our salvation.
For trucks, the all kinds of light electric vehicles are not an alternative, says Walther Ploos van Amstel, lecturer in urban logistics at the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. 'In Amsterdam you would then need 250,000 cargobikes. Every day.' According to him, the increasingly busy city is better served with larger electric delivery vans. 'It's better to drive one big one, than several small ones. Those small electric vehicles were a hype five years ago.'
'Politics is killjoy'
The use of cargo bikes for transportation is also not yet without problems. 'I often hear stories about hassle with those bikes, which keep breaking down and don't reach the expected lifespan,' says Edwin Renzen of Mobilitum, manufacturer of electric vehicles. 'Those bikes broke down too often in the beginning,' agrees Jos Sluijsmans of Fietsdiensten.nl and organizer of the International Cargo Bike Festival. 'That's because those were made for families and not for cargo transport. They have now been adapted.'
Sluijsmans notes that emissions-free transportation is not yet going as fast as expected. 'There has just been a boom in sales of diesel buses that are still allowed everywhere in the coming years. The current government is not cooperating. Politics is the big killjoy. The rules around light electric vehicles were first supposed to be introduced as early as 2023, but that is delayed. Because of this lack of clarity, entrepreneurs say: I'll wait and see.' Over the years, he does see a steady growth of electric cars and cargo bikes.
According to RAI Association, which expects small electric vehicles to have a place alongside vans, it is important that the government quickly clarify the vehicles' admission and use on the road. 'That concerns the technical requirements that apply to these new vehicles, but also the traffic regulations,' says a spokesman. 'Do we want these vehicles on the carriageway or on the bicycle path?'
Pragmatic solutions
Companies are not waiting for that. Installation company Vandorp set up a branch in Rotterdam five years ago for urban transport, so that mechanics can go to customers by bicycle, public transport or electric transport. 'Our mechanics often have to be in the city for maintenance and repairs,' says marketing director Paul van Dorp. 'Then they have to spend a long time in traffic jams, and once in town it is difficult to find a parking space. Mechanics are scarce, so a solution was sought.'
The company started with bikes from the pizza delivery service and they are still in use. It also purchased four electric tricycles from Carver and vehicles from Stint, both of which went out of business. In addition, cargo bikes from Urban Arrow were purchased. 'That was all to find a solution to the problem of getting into the busy city,' says Van Dorp. 'Only later did we join the zero-emission movement. That was fairly easy to do at the time.'
