DHL Group has announced a significant long-term investment plan for India, committing close to EUR 1 billion—approximately USD 1.16 billion—by 2030 to expand low-emission logistics infrastructure and electrified operations. The initiative strengthens India’s role within the company’s global sustainability, clean mobility, and digital innovation strategy, while advancing DHL’s broader climate commitments under its Strategy 2030 and net-zero 2050 pathway.
The decision comes at a time when global trade patterns are shifting due to geopolitical realignments, supply-chain diversification, and manufacturing relocation across emerging markets. DHL executives say the scale of this investment reflects India’s growing importance as a logistics, technology, and clean-energy hub rather than a short-term response to market fluctuations. With demand rising for efficient and low-emission logistics solutions, the company sees India as a long-term growth corridor and a strategic base for climate-aligned supply-chain development.
A major portion of the investment is directed toward building and expanding low-emission facilities. Blue Dart, DHL Group’s Indian subsidiary, is set to enhance two key infrastructure assets: a new integrated ground hub in Haryana and what it has described as India’s largest low-emission integrated facility in Bijwasan. These hubs are expected to support cleaner, more energy-efficient operations and reduce lifecycle emissions associated with warehousing and freight handling.
DHL Supply Chain will also establish its first dedicated Health Logistics hub in Bhiwandi, addressing the growing need for temperature-controlled logistics solutions for pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and medical supplies. Another component of the plan includes DHL Express launching its first automatic sorting center in Delhi, which is designed to increase operational efficiency through automation and reduce energy consumption.
Electrification forms a central pillar of the programme. DHL will set up Electric Vehicle and Battery Logistics Centers of Excellence in Chennai and Mumbai, focusing on specialised storage, handling, and transport services for electric vehicles and battery components. As India’s clean mobility sector continues to expand, these facilities are expected to support original equipment manufacturers and component suppliers seeking reliable and compliant logistics for high-value battery systems.
Beyond physical infrastructure, DHL is closely integrating India into its global digital ecosystem. More than 1,300 specialists in the country already contribute to the company’s worldwide operations across software development, analytics, and automation. This digital capacity will expand further with the establishment of a fifth DHL IT Services Center in Indore. The new center will house teams working on artificial intelligence, process optimisation, and digital tools that support emissions tracking, route optimisation, and fuel-efficiency improvements. DHL will also introduce a training academy to build skills in these areas, recognising digitalisation as a key enabler of decarbonisation across supply chains.
The company’s Global Connectedness Tracker projects that the average distance of India’s goods trade will rise to more than 6,000 kilometres in 2025, reflecting broader trade diversification across regions including Asia, Africa, the Gulf, and the Americas. While this expansion increases opportunities for Indian exporters, it also raises the carbon intensity of long-distance freight. DHL argues that its new low-emission hubs, automation systems, and electrified fleets will help manage the environmental load of longer supply chains without slowing trade movement.
The investment is directly aligned with DHL’s Strategy 2030 climate goals, which include reducing its absolute CO2 emissions to 29 million metric tons by the end of the decade. In India, this translates to expanding electric delivery fleets, powering more buildings with renewable energy, and widening the GoGreen Plus programme, which offers customers lower-emission shipping options such as sustainable aviation fuel, greener road transport, and certified carbon-reduction pathways.
For investors and sustainability leaders, DHL’s India expansion reflects how global logistics companies are reconfiguring their asset portfolios to balance economic growth with rising climate expectations. As freight emissions come under increasing regulatory scrutiny, especially in hard-to-abate sectors, large logistics companies are expected to make more capital commitments tied to emissions reductions. The scale and visibility of DHL’s investment may serve as a benchmark for how multinational operators approach climate-aligned infrastructure spending in emerging markets.
The company’s growing technology presence in India also highlights how the future of low-emission logistics will depend as much on software innovations and data management as on physical infrastructure. Digital tools developed in India will be deployed across DHL’s global operations, supporting energy-reduction strategies and helping customers meet tightening sustainability reporting frameworks.
As countries prepare for the next round of global climate negotiations at COP30, DHL’s long-term programme in India underscores how logistics leaders are positioning themselves for the next decade of decarbonisation while managing rising global trade volumes. India’s increasing integration into DHL’s sustainability and technology roadmap indicates that emerging markets are taking a central role in shaping the future of global supply chains and the transition to low-carbon logistics.
