DHL and Cox Automotive Announce Largest Scale EV Battery Services Centre in the UK

• Largest scale battery management and maintenance operation in the UK
• Collaboration will deliver a new standard for EV battery circularity
• Operating within DHL’s 146,000-square feet EV Centre of Excellence in Rugby

DHL Supply Chain, the world’s leading logistics provider, and Cox Automotive, the industry leader in connected automotive services, are working together to deliver in-life EV battery services for manufacturers and fleets.

The new cooperation provides the UK’s largest-scale battery repair, remanufacturing logistics and storage services through the opening of 35,000-square feet of dedicated space for battery services at DHL’s EV Centre of Excellence in Rugby. Designed to comply with the latest government regulations and meet current battery safety standards, the new centre has the capacity to handle thousands of EV batteries each year. DHL has invested over £800,000 in a Battery Energy Storage System to discharge EV batteries and re-circulate energy back into the site and re-manufacturing process.

The cooperation between DHL and Cox Automotive will help increase confidence in battery technology, driving EV adoption by delivering reliable battery services at scale. The combined expertise of both businesses offers reassurance to drivers who are increasingly focused on battery performance, with recent Cox Automotive research¹ finding 68% of UK drivers want transparent information on battery health, lifespan and recycling.

The announcement comes after Cox Automotive introduced its EV Battery Solutions business to the UK and Europe, following success in the United States.

Paul Stone, MD Manufacturing Logistics DHL Supply Chain, said: “Handling, transporting and storing EV batteries is a complex process, presenting some unique challenges. We’ve been listening and working with the industry to create a more robust end-to-end solution for the EV batteries that effectively and reliably addresses challenges for manufacturers and fleets. Today, alongside Cox Automotive, we are setting the new standard for EV battery circularity and this cooperation represents a major step forward in creating a scalable circular economy for batteries in the UK.”

Martin Forbes, President, Cox Automotive International, added: “As the automotive industry attempts to balance government mandates, consumer concerns about the durability of EVs, and a lack of technical expertise, the market requires tangible solutions and infrastructure to address barriers to EV adoption. With 35,000 square feet of dedicated battery repair space, we can deliver vital battery services to customers under one roof. In addition, this new facility provides our customers with a unique EV handling service as it complements our existing vehicle services location just 13 miles away in Bruntingthorpe.”

The launch of EV Battery Solutions in Europe comes three years after Cox Automotive’s global acquisition of Spiers New Technologies (SNT) in 2021. The acquisition included SNT’s operations in Ede in the Netherlands, which will continue to form an integral part of EV Battery Solutions.