Abstract
AbstractIn megacities, increasing globalization effects are leading to rapidly increasing prosperity and augmented purchasing power, and thus to a growing need for punctual, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly delivery of goods. A smart, small electric vehicle concept is presented that targets on meeting the requirements for the delivery of goods in urban areas and that is designed especially for the delivery on the last mile. This last mile vehicle (LMV) for cargo transportation is attached to a truck. Whenever it is needed, for example to deliver goods into narrow streets, in pedestrian areas or in case of traffic jams, it can be unfolded and unloaded from the truck and hereby guarantees a flexible and punctual delivery of goods. This flexible on-time delivery is possible because the last mile vehicle is designed, so that the legal regulations of the non-motorized vehicle lane, that is everywhere to be found in Asia, are met. The vehicle is designed with three wheels, a range of 40-60 km and an electric drive train with a continuous power of 2 × 250 W that enables a maximum speed up to 40 km/h of the vehicle. The drive train consists of a battery pack that can be charged electrically from the truck, two inverters, and two electric wheel hub motors. The LMV has been designed and constructed as a prototype and has been tested on non-public roads to prove the vehicle concept. For Europe, it can be classified as an L2e vehicle and with slight modifications; it can be applied on European roads as well.
Highlights
In Chinese megacities, this wisdom has been put into effect for quite some time, leading to prosperity in the ever-increasing middle class and to urban infrastructures that have reached their maximum of capacity in many places
At the Technical University of Munich, these challenges were analyzed for cargo transportation and a design methodology for last mile vehicles was developed
A more futuristic delivery scenario involves several agile last mile vehicle (LMV) that are connected with each other and networked with a larger logistics vehicle traveling on outer ring roads
Summary
In China, there is an old saying: “要致富先修路” (loosely translated: If you want to be rich, you must first build roads) [1]. The urbanization continues (e.g. Shanghai had a population growth of 38% in the years from 2000 to 2011 [2]) and studies predict that by 2030, one billion people will be living in urban areas in China. This will produce a tenfold increase of the traffic volume [3]. Public access to the Internet and the associated introduction of e-commerce accelerates the development of rising freight flows. This brings great challenges to logistics companies especially for the last mile delivery stage [4]. The last mile is the bottleneck of the delivery chain, and provides the largest potential for innovative vehicle concepts and mobility solutions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
