XPress is running a fleet made up entirely of battery-powered vehicles, starting with three BYD Dolphins.
South Africa's first fully electric vehicle (EV) courier service, XPress, is operational in Gauteng and surrounding provinces.
The company, founded by entrepreneur Alex Staniland, is running a fleet made up entirely of battery-powered vehicles, starting with three BYD Dolphins.
“We are thrilled to announce the newly formed XPress is fully operational as a standalone overnight courier in Gauteng and neighbouring areas. The company is unique in that we run a fleet of pure EVs. A trio of BYD Dolphin vehicles are the first units in our fleet,” said Staniland.
XPress was established after Staniland encountered challenges with existing delivery services while running his other business, mUther, an online smart home store. “We were using established courier services to distribute sales from the mUther online store. However, the service levels we received and experienced by our clients did not sit well with me,” he said.
Backed by Special Envoy, a family logistics business with more than four decades of experience in freight delivery, XPress is positioned as an extension of the expertise.
“We have been in the logistics industry for more than 40 years. Our parent company, Special Envoy, has been delivering freight to the mining industry primarily in Gauteng and Mpumalanga,” Staniland said. “I realised a courier service is well within the scope of what we offer through Special Envoy.”
XPress is available in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Deliveries cost R99, with next day service guaranteed for bookings made before 10am.
XPress is available in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Deliveries cost R99, with next day service guaranteed for bookings made before 10am. Customers can track parcels via the company's online portal.
The decision to use EVs aligns with Staniland's background in tech and smart systems.
“I wanted to portray the right brand image and an EV conveys that perfectly. We did research as to possible options and settled on BYD. The company is a rival for Tesla and is available in SA. The Dolphin has a unique appearance, a hi-tech interior and a very good range, more than 400km, on a full charge. Using EVs has made us more efficient all around.”
The BYD Dolphin units used by XPress have been modified for courier use.
“There is plenty of space in the Dolphins as we had them customised. We removed the passenger and rear seats, essentially turning them into little panel vans. Our drivers seem to really enjoy driving the cars. They have a sense of pride that shows in their appearance and the level of courtesy shown to clients.”
XPress also incorporates a proprietary feature called Bring It, enabling customers to send parcels by scanning a QR code on the spot.
“All our drivers are also trained on our proprietary software to accept parcels on the spot via our Bring It service. This allows clients to simply scan a QR code to send a parcel there and then, and to remove unnecessary paperwork and admin, which is pretty unique in SA.”
Staniland said the initial rollout has shown strong potential and the company is planning to expand.
“The rollout has proven this is a viable concept, even if SA is slow to widespread EV adoption. We are in talks to offer the XPress service in Durban, Cape Town and Nelspruit. We are also considering adding BYD Seagulls for intra-city deliveries. But it's still early days for this exciting new business.”