Deutsche Post expands StreetScooter production (opens in new tab)

I'd also guess that the vast majority of deliveries are in urban areas as opposed to rural ones (in Germany at least), so it makes sense to prioritise that.

No the vehicle has to fit their specs which are rather specific. Some specs are seemingly "low tec" in some areas but not in others. For example range:a lot of routes do not exceed 50 km but standard manufacturers cramp as much range as possible into their vehicles thus driving the weight and price up. A delivery vehicle like this does not need the range but good luck telling that your average car manufacturer who also has to think about other customers (who usually care a lot about range).

Then the vehicle has a hight floor making it back friendly for the delivery person which is something unwanted in your average delivery truck. It limits the height of the goods you can transport but the Post does not deliver packages that huge.

This is a special vehicle for a certain purpose and no commerial manufacturer had interest in developing something like this.

Which hurdles? Electric vehicles are a solved problem. It's just the battery and the electronic to charge the battery were innovation is really needed to extend the reach. In NYC around 1910 all Cabs were full electric, the first official car of an Us president was an electric one. The post services in various countries used full electric cars up to the 1970s. Overall an electric vehicle has less parts and is simpler to design and produce. In China you see already many electric cars and even big Chinese built all electric SUVs. It seems like certain manufacturer of the old age will face reality very soon. There will be a disruption of the market, and they waited for decades and now they will loose a lot of market share.

Not really basic. It's being designed as an urban delivery vehicle, so built for lots of starts and stops, carrying a half a ton of cargo, and be able to maneuver city streets. Those sorts of conditions mean you're going to need a vehicle with a beefy chassis, beefy suspension, engine with a lot of torque and to be comfortable to get in and out of several dozen times a day. Those really aren't all that basic; you're building a freight platform with a wheelbase that's significantly smaller than the traditional freight vehicle. The US postal service is looking at building a similar vehicle to replace their iconic Grumman LLVs, and the entire cost of the program is expected to be into the billions of dollars. You'd be surprised how complicated "basic" can be.

"Hurdles" is too ambiguous and vague. I think the issue was cost and not application of existing technologies.

If specs do not require for a 800km autonomy, max speed of 170km/h and no leather seats, no auto-pilot, no high-end stereo system, and so on, then yes ("money" or lack of IT is a big "hurdle".. no?)

The Post can make an objective decision about how much range they actually need, while regular carmakers have to built range vastly higher than most buyers will ever use, because those buyers will worry about whether they'll need it once a year.

No idea why they are single speed. Have these people not heard of hills ;)

A local company uses eBullit, but can only get about 4 hours out of the 500w battery due to hills.

I could see an advantage in offering a 1000w light-moped version however these would be illegal on cycle paths.

These huge storage boxes look like they would severely mess with balance. I can already feel the difference in maneuverability when I put a grocery bag in front of a bike, now imagine 30kg of mail in there.

We used to have a milkman delivery but it seemed crazy to do this while going past much cheaper milk in the supermarket or even the corner shop.

Understanding this is key to getting the German automative industry (or even the whole German economy). Your shiny new car model needs cylindrical fasteners (just as all do)? There is a company with 350 employees that does only that and can deliver just on time. Same with any other little component in a car.

Apparently the Post has a sufficiently big demand, as do other European delivery agencies.

The USPS wants one vehicle so it needs a much longer range. The Grumman LLV was specifically designed for the United States Postal Service with Grumman winning the contract for production... Approximately 140,000 LLVs are in the USPS delivery fleet.[6][7] A number were also sold to Canada, Mexico, and several other countries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_LLV On September 22, 2016, the United States Postal Service awarded the NGDV Prototype Contract to six selected suppliers: AM General, Karsan, Mahindra, Oshkosh, Utilimaster, and VT Hackney. Half of the prototypes will feature hybrid and new technologies, including alternative fuel capabilities. The prototypes will represent a variety of vehicle sizes and drive configurations, in addition to advanced powertrains and a range of hybrid technologies.[16]