California start-up CityFreighter will leverage German automotive consulting firm’s engineering and business expertise to scale company and launch production in 2023
IRVINE, Calif., March 2, 2022 — CityFreighter, developer of unique, modular electric delivery vehicles, is entering a strategic partnership with PEM Motion, one of Germany’s most successful mobility engineering consulting firms.
The collaboration will enable CityFreighter to leverage PEM Motion’s team of engineers, developers and business experts in electrification and logistics to scale operations in the United States and Europe. PEM Motion’s team includes Professor Achim Kampker, who as CEO of StreetScooter was instrumental in designing the delivery van now used by Deutsche Post DHL Group, the world’s leading logistics company. With approximately 18,000 vehicles on the road in Germany, the Netherlands and Japan, Streetscooter has one of the largest commercial electric fleets operating in the world today.
“PEM Motion is well-known for its engineering talent and business acumen in electric-vehicle manufacturing and innovation,” CityFreighter Founder and President Michael Schoening said. “They are the right partner for us as we create a new customer-centric model to crack the last-mile delivery market.”
CityFreighter will disrupt urban logistics and last-mile delivery by working directly with customers to build highly specialized trucks and an integrated suite of logistics services. The company will provide fleet operators with everything needed to electrify and reduce total cost of ownership. Unlike typical OEM vehicle development strategies, which concentrate on high-volume production of one-size-fits-all trucks, CityFreighter will use strategic partners and contract manufacturers to be profitable at much lower sales volumes.
“We’ll use our knowledge of German and North American markets to bring CityFreighter’s ideas to life, the way we did with StreetScooter,” said Prof. Achim Kampker, partner at PEM Motion. “We’re experienced electric-vehicle developers and have worked with many customers to find lower-cost, practical ways to build a business.”
CityFreighter expects to start serial production of the CF1, a zero-emissions Class 3 delivery truck by the third quarter in 2023. It projects to be profitable by 2024, with volumes of 30,000 vehicles by 2027.
CityFreighter debuted a beta version of the CF1 at the Advanced Clean Technology Expo in Long Beach, California in Aug. 2021. The CF1 features a unique, low-floor skateboard chassis with best-in-class payload. Its 86 kWh lithium-ion battery pack delivers 150 miles of range with heat-pump based thermo management. The CF1 will also be loaded with advanced safety features including a full suite of ADAS features and stability control.
About CityFreighter
CityFreighter Inc. was founded in 2018 by Michael Schoening, an experienced serial entrepreneur. CityFreighter operates in the US and Germany, focusing on building customized all-electric trucks for last-mile delivery. CityFreighter will create valuable collaborations with industry leaders in the supply chain for each vehicle segment, moving faster and freeing up resources to innovate.
CityFreighter develops smart and innovative transport solutions, to improve TCO, and to optimize the operational efficiency for drivers and the infrastructure of fleet operators.
About PEM Motion
PEM Motion, was founded in Aachen, Germany in 2014 as a spin-off from Prof. Achim Kampker’s Chair of Production Technology for Electromobility Components (PEM) at RWTH Aachen University. The company was started by few talented engineers with the idea of making electromobility sustainable and affordable. Since then, PEM Motion has grown to more than 60 employees working in six offices in Germany, California and USA, Canada and Mexico. It serves a wide spectrum of clients in the automotive and mobility industries, including BMW Group, Liebherr and Unu.
PEM Motion offers consulting and engineering services from agile product design, development and prototyping to bringing ambitious and visionary ideas on the road.