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Planzer Parcel, LOXO and KYBURZ provide a boost on the last mile

12 November 2024

Together with Planzer Parcel, the tech start-up LOXO and the market leader for sustainable mobility KYBURZ, we have taken our city logistics to a new dimension. With the ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’, we are conducting a pilot project for highly automated driving in the city centre of Bern. In this way, we are pooling expertise from logistics, mobility and technology for the benefit of cities and urban agglomerations.

::About LOXO

LOXO was launched in Bern in May 2021 by Claudio Panizza, Amin Amini and Lara Amini with the aim of developing one of the most advanced and secure software solutions for autonomous vehicles. In just under two years, the start-up designed and built the prototype of a small delivery van (LOXO Alpha), secured type approval and put it into operation on public roads. LOXO was therefore a pioneer of Europe’s first Level-4 autonomous driving technology to operate on public roads.

Fewer emissions, better quality of life

Emissions and noise pollution from traffic are a particular problem in highly urbanised areas. This has led cities and urban agglomerations to increasingly strive for low-emission transport networks for the supply of goods. Against this background, highly automated driving at Level 4 (without drivers in specific cases) is becoming established, both globally and in Switzerland. The Federal Roads Office FEDRO is expected to bring the new Automated Driving Act into force in spring 2025. We want to grasp the opportunity of these developments and make our contribution to climate-friendly goods mobility and last-mile parcel delivery.

Sustainable parcel delivery without the additional burden

Together with LOXO, we have combined our experience of low-emission last-mile distribution in a Volkswagen ID.BUZZ and named it ‘Mathilde’ as a tribute to our founding family. Since September 2024, in a two-year pilot phase in the city of Bern, Mathilde has been covering the route from the Planzer railway centre on Murtenstrasse to 14 transfer points several times a day for last-mile goods distribution. Here, it supplies the small KYBURZ-branded electric delivery vehicles. The micro hub currently has space for two specially designed interchangeable box chassis. In the future, Mathilde will be able to carry up to eight interchangeable box chassis, each with 35 parcels. That corresponds to around twice as many parcels with the same traffic volume.

‘What makes this project unique is that it will have a direct impact on society. We not only wanted to integrate automated technology into existing systems, but also to develop an entirely new business model.’

Nils Planzer, CEO and co-owner

Noticeably reduced workload for drivers

With the ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’, we are consolidating our strategy ‘City Logistics 2028 – dynamism on the last mile’. This lays an important foundation for highly automated goods logistics, in which we see promising sustainability potential. The fact that this also has a positive effect on the well-being of Planzer Parcel employees is demonstrated by the reduced workload on our drivers: busy routes to and from the city centre at peak times are now handled by a highly automated delivery vehicle. This means that our drivers can focus on what’s most important to us in an agile and relatively stress-free manner with their compact electric vehicles: delivering parcels reliably and punctually to the door.

‘Our compact electric vehicles handle the quick, flexible and low-emission deliveries from the dynamic micro hub to the recipients.’

Martin Kyburz, Founder and CEO, KYBURZ Switzerland AG

Important pioneering work for the future

Our pilot project ‘Planzer – Dynamic Micro Hub with LOXO’ makes us the first transport and logistics company in Europe to get involved in automated city logistics. This pioneering role is the result of our close collaboration with the Swiss partner organisations LOXO, the city of Bern and KYBURZ. As a strong ecosystem, we are laying a solid foundation for greater acceptance of new technologies among the population and for further innovations. We and other industry players can build on this. We are also creating the conditions for new jobs in Switzerland in the areas of goods supply and new technologies.

‘We’re confident that this partnership will not only expand Planzer’s business, but that the technology will also become the standard for efficient local delivery.’

Amin Amini, Co-Founder and CEO, LOXO AG

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