Formula E race equipment embarked on a multimodal journey to Beijing as DHL delivers FIA Formula Einto second season
* Cars delivered using DHLâs logistics solutions with innovative lithium-ion battery management
* Race cars, medical cars, broadcasting equipment and racing-related freight delivered via DHLâs multimodal network
DHL, the leading global brand in the logistics industry, today announced the successful delivery of40 electric race cars, spare parts and lithium-ion batteries to China for the opening of the FIA Formula E Championshipâs secondseason at the Olympic Park around the iconic âBirdâs Nestâ Olympic Stadium in Beijing, China.
Making their way from Donington Park, UK, to Beijing via Belgium, Germany, Belarus and Russia, the race cars have travelled a total of more than 12,000 km through multimodal modes including road, sea and rail to reach their destination. As the Official Logistics and a Founding Partner of Formula E, DHL has delivered more than 450 tons in supporting vehicles and equipment to Beijing ahead of the race including medical cars, broadcasting equipment, and more than 10 containers of racing-related freight including signage via air and sea.
âIt continues to be a great privilege to deliver Formula E to China for a second year running and take the championship into its next phase of sustainable innovation.As the FIA Formula E Championship matures, the logistics challenges of delivering both cars and supporting equipment become more complex, particularly when transporting increasingly bespoke cars and power systems to international safety standards,â said Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific. âItâs testament to the expertise of our personnel that we were able to deliver not only the cars but medical, broadcast, and ancillary race equipment in a safe and timely manner, addressing issues ranging from delivery timing constraints to limited container maneuverability through a combination of our world-class services in road, rail, sea, and air freight.â
DHLâs longstanding automotive logistics expertise saw it deliver 41 electric race carsand 45 lithium-ion batteriesto the starting line in the first season of FIA Formula E Championship.The lithium-ion batteries, which weigh 320kg and contain 200kg of lithium ion cells, require specialist handling, packaging and certification in many markets and are subject to stringent transport safety regulations.
âWith increasing safety concerns around the shipment of lithium-ion batteries and a growing number of airlines no longer accepting bulk battery shipments , we need to ensure a safe and sustainable way of shipping them,â said Charles Kaufmann, CEO, North Asia and Head, Value Added Services, DHL Global Forwarding Asia Pacific.âDHL provides the necessary specialist handling, packaging and certification for lithium-ion battery shipments and all battery