A German postal service has teamed up with a filtration specialist to develop what it claims is the world’s first emission neutral vehicle.

The Deutsche Post DHL Group has fitted MANN+HUMMEL’s air filter to five of its 5,000 StreetScooter delivery vans in a pilot test across five of the country’s city centres.

Its reasoning is that even these clean electric vehicles (EVs) still release particulate matter into the atmosphere due to tire, brake, and road abrasion and are therefore not free of emissions.

Through equipping them with a particle filter, the overall balance of the vehicle with regard to the release of particulates can be made neutral, by retaining as many dust particles as are produced.

The companies say even when the vehicle is at a standstill it is still able to filter particulates from the ambient air.

Alfred Weber, CEO of MANN+HUMMEL, said: “The coming together of the biggest logistics provider, the biggest producer of electric commercial vehicles in Germany and the global filtration expert has made driving and delivery operations possible in city centres which is neutral in terms of emissions.”