IN Brief:
- DHL Group will invest around €160m in France between 2026 and 2027.
- The programme covers express, freight, forwarding, supply chain, warehousing, fleet, and charging infrastructure.
- DHL’s 2018–2027 investment in France will reach nearly €900m.
DHL Group will invest around €160m in France between 2026 and 2027, expanding logistics capacity, upgrading infrastructure, and accelerating decarbonisation across its express, freight, forwarding, and supply chain operations.
The new programme will bring DHL’s total investment in France over the 10 years from 2018 to 2027 to nearly €900m. The company is reinforcing France’s position as a European logistics hub while expanding the assets needed to serve healthcare, manufacturing, technology, e-commerce, and industrial supply chains.
DHL Express will invest in fleet modernisation, electrification, charging infrastructure, operational equipment, network development, and facilities. The express division has completed 20 real estate projects in France since 2018, including the Paris Charles de Gaulle hub in 2021 and the Lyon-Saint Exupéry gateway in 2025.
DHL Global Forwarding will develop alternative-fuel vehicles, handling equipment, and warehousing infrastructure. DHL Freight will continue investing in facilities and alternative-fuel vehicles, with six further real estate projects due to be delivered by 2030.
DHL Supply Chain will expand warehouse facilities in southern Paris, Orléans, and Lyon, responding to demand for third-party logistics services across life sciences, healthcare, manufacturing, technology, and e-commerce. The division will also strengthen fourth-party logistics capability through its Toulouse control tower, supporting orchestration across complex multi-partner networks.
A significant share of the investment will be directed towards lower-emissions operations. Planned measures include electric fleet expansion, charging infrastructure, increased use of sustainable aviation fuel, solar energy across logistics sites, low-carbon fuels including biodiesel for heavier goods vehicles, warehouse equipment electrification, and more energy-efficient buildings.
Tobias Meyer, CEO of DHL Group, said: “France is a vital logistics hub at the heart of Europe and a key market for DHL Group. With this investment, we are strengthening our infrastructure, growing our capabilities, and accelerating our transition toward low-emissions logistics.”
DHL’s French programme follows wider European investment in specialist logistics infrastructure. Construction of DHL’s European battery logistics hub in Holtum, Limburg has already started, adding capacity for storage, diagnostics, refurbishment, reverse logistics, and recycling preparation for high-voltage batteries.
The two programmes show how large logistics providers are building capacity around sectors with more demanding handling profiles. Life sciences, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, technology, batteries, and e-commerce all require stronger visibility, compliant processes, controlled environments, and resilient transport options than conventional general cargo networks can always provide.
France’s location gives the investment wider European weight. The country links northern European ports, southern European markets, Iberian routes, central European manufacturing corridors, and international air cargo gateways. Additional French warehouse, forwarding, and control tower capacity therefore supports both domestic distribution and cross-border movement.
The sustainability element depends on physical assets rather than policy statements alone. Low-emissions logistics requires vehicles, chargers, alternative-fuel supply, solar installations, energy-efficient warehouses, electrified handling equipment, and operating plans that allow those assets to be used consistently. Without that infrastructure, decarbonisation remains dependent on isolated pilots and customer-specific projects.
Outsourced logistics contracts are increasingly judged on service, resilience, and emissions performance together. Network strength is no longer defined only by location and throughput; it also depends on how quickly providers can adapt to fuel pressure, regulatory change, customer growth, and stricter carbon reporting requirements. DHL’s French investment adds capacity in a market where those measures are becoming part of the same procurement decision.
