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The automotive industry is undergoing its biggest transformation since the introduction of assembly line production. This industry portrait sheds light on how DB Cargo is adapting to the trends and meeting the challenges, with a focus on battery logistics and electric car distribution.

Modernising rolling stock is often associated with high investment costs. But there are also innovative and resource-saving ideas for renewing vehicle fleets sustainably. DB Cargo recently put these into practice for its timber fleet.

It's the holy grail of rail logistics providers everywhere: freight trains running loaded on every journey. The reality is often quite different, as trains usually transport goods to one destination and then travel empty to the next pick-up address. Not so with the transport recently launched by Stellantis and DB Cargo Logistics – a great partnership with a recipe for success.

Wood logistics and rail transport share a long history, and DB Cargo Logistics is an experienced partner for both. Proven expertise in all things wood, digital and analogue innovations, and special equipment for handling wood products of any kind make DB Cargo Logistics an important wood logistics provider.

The story began with a forecast for an increase in timber damaged by bark beetles in the forests in the state of Thuringia in central Germany. This came at a time when local timber loading yards were stretched to their limit. It was therefore clear that a new timber loading yard had to be built as quickly as possible. A daunting task.

Electric vehicles are among the most important and visible factors in the transition to new drive technologies. But a true measurement of their carbon emissions should include not only the energy used to charge them but also the vehicles' production and transport – a view on which DB Cargo Logistics and Volkswagen Group Logistics agree.

Volkswagen Group Logistics has been relying on DB Cargo Logistics' rail logistics solutions for a number of years now, providing carbon neutral carriage of finished vehicles, materials and components to and from its plants in Germany. The company is a pioneer in Eco Solutions and is now also the first user of DBeco plus in Poland.

Many companies are asking themselves how they can make production and logistics more sustainable. In the field of transport, the shift to rail is high on the agenda. The timber processing company binderholz took this step many years ago at its plant in Oberrot. Now it has taken the next step toward an even greener supply chain: a private rail siding, which will further reduce the number of trucks in the supply chain.

PMG Holzhandels GmbH is a timber trading company established in Villach, Austria, that supplies raw materials to wood processing companies across Europe. In the spring of this year, PMG began supplying beech logs from forests in the Czech Republic to a customer in Belgium. DB Cargo Logistics has provided an environmentally friendly and customer-centric logistics solution that utilises an efficient wagon turnaround cycle and the timber port in Trier.

Zeebrugge is the second-largest port in Belgium. It enjoys an ideal location on the North Sea and close to the UK, while at the same time within easy reach of western Europe's economic centres. Zeebrugge is an important container port that can also accommodate deep-draft ships. Above all, it is one of the world's most important transhipment sites for new cars.

Electric vehicles are seen as a major component of the decarbonisation of energy and transport. However, it is essential that we not only consider the cars themselves but also their carbon footprint, which includes production and supply chains. Audi is one of the pioneers of this trend.

Rail freight transport is already extremely climate-friendly. But it gets even better. Thanks to DBeco plus and DBeco neutral, freight transport can even be entirely CO2-free on rail or climate neutral on sections of routes where emissions are unavoidable. Mercedes-Benz is one customer relying on DB Cargo's carbon-free and climate neutral freight logistics.

Chinese company CATL is the world's largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles. Since January 2022, DB Cargo Logistics has been handling multimodal transport of lithium-ion cell modules in steel frames for CATL.

More than 80 percent of the emissions generated during timber transport can be saved by transporting it by rail. The Austrian timber industry Maresch GmbH has been driving this green logistics forward together with DB Cargo since 2016 - and is setting itself even more ambitious ambitions for 2022.

Webasto wants to make its service and supply chains efficient and climate-friendly. After test runs, one of the 100 largest suppliers to the automotive industry worldwide is now going into regular operation on the rails and plans to expand further.

The "climate footprint" of an e-car also includes the supply chain and the production of these vehicles. The newly established Automotive Logistics Center in Bremen supports Mercedes-Benz in a major task: bringing the heart of the e-cars - the drive batteries – to the manufacturer in an environmentally friendly way.