HIVED Raises £2M From Yamato Holdings to Scale Emission-Free Last-Mile Delivery Across London

HIVED, a London-based logistics startup, has raised £2 million from Yamato Holdings, Japan's largest delivery and courier company, to scale its emission-free last-mile delivery service. The company operates a fleet of electric vehicles and cargo bikes to deliver parcels for e-commerce brands and retailers across London without producing the tailpipe emissions associated with conventional diesel delivery vans — a particularly timely proposition as UK cities move towards tighter clean air zones and as brands under sustainability scrutiny seek to decarbonise their supply chains.

Last-mile delivery is one of the most carbon-intensive and logistically complex segments of the supply chain. The concentrated density of delivery stops in urban areas makes van-based delivery both traffic-congesting and emissions-heavy, and the fragmentation of delivery across multiple carriers and networks creates inefficiencies at the point of customer contact. Urban logistics has been a focus of significant startup activity in recent years, driven by the structural growth of e-commerce and the tightening regulatory environment around diesel vehicles in major European cities.

HIVED's differentiation lies in its commitment to zero-emission operations from launch rather than as a future aspiration. The company uses electric vehicles for longer-range urban deliveries and cargo bikes for inner-city zones where cycling infrastructure and access restrictions make powered vehicles suboptimal. This mixed-fleet model, optimised by routing software that allocates deliveries between vehicle types based on geography and parcel characteristics, allows HIVED to achieve near-zero operational emissions across its delivery network without sacrificing service levels or delivery density.

Yamato Holdings' investment is strategically significant beyond the capital itself. Yamato operates one of the world's most sophisticated parcel delivery networks and has been actively exploring how its logistics expertise and technology can be applied in European urban markets. The partnership gives HIVED access to Yamato's deep operational knowledge in high-density urban delivery, while providing Yamato with a foothold in the European sustainable logistics market. The funding will support fleet expansion, technology development, and growth into new London delivery zones.

Sources

• HIVED — company website