DHL Express Mexico disclosed on 4 December 2025 an investment of EUR 70 million during 2025 in more than 1,000 vehicles, equivalent to 20% of its fleet in the country. It is neither an equity nor a debt transaction: it is corporate investment (capex) funded by the group, with no financial counterparty and no valuation. We include it because it is the reference for investment in last-mile assets against which independent operators in Mexico compete, and get financed.
The transaction
There are no financial parties and no instrument: DHL Express Mexico invests with its own resources. The EUR 70 million goes to 350 new vehicles and 650 renewals. On top of that come more than EUR 11 million in 100 retail points, 300 additional electric vehicles planned for 2026 and 10,000 square metres at Felipe Ángeles International Airport, according to Antonio Arranz of DHL Express Mexico. Ahead of the 2025 Buen Fin the company had announced USD 60 million and 300 vehicles for the peak season (Xataka México). There are no approvals or closing to report: the outlay corresponds to the 2025 financial year.
Value drivers
Capex on a group balance sheet. In our reading, a global operator funds its fleet from its own balance sheet at its own cost of capital; no independent operator in Mexico competes on those terms.
Gradual electrification. 300 additional electric vehicles in 2026 on top of a newly renewed fleet indicate that the transition happens in annual tranches, not all at once.
Physical network and airport. 100 retail points and 10,000 square metres at AIFA expand intake and air-cargo handling; this is investment in network, not only in vehicles.
Seasonality. The USD 60 million and 300 vehicles for the peak season show that part of the capex responds to e-commerce peaks; in our reading, an independent operator covers that peak with leasing, not purchases.
Fleet scale. More than 1,000 vehicles equal 20% of the fleet, which places the total at several thousand units; that is the size of the competitor any last-mile platform faces.
What the market is signalling
For Mexico, the signal is that global parcel operators are deepening their physical investment in the country while consolidation through M&A stalls: UPS’s purchase of Estafeta was cancelled in September 2025. Independent last-mile operators compete against capex that is renewed every year.
For lenders, it indicates demand for fleet financing, leasing and asset-backed debt among operators without a group balance sheet. For founders, the signal is that a last-mile platform does not sell fleet size but density, technology or a niche, and that its fleet must be financed outside the platform’s equity.
G2’s reading for a mandate
A last-mile startup raising capital in Mexico must explain why it does not compete on capex with a global operator, and separate fleet financing (leasing, asset-backed debt, venture debt) from equity for the platform. In our reading, the investment committee will compare cost per vehicle and utilisation against the global operators’ reference, so that comparison must be in the materials from the outset.
Sources
- Revista TyT, 4 December 2025: DHL Express México va por más vehículos eléctricos y carga en el AIFA
- Info-Transportes, 4 December 2025: DHL Express renueva el 20% de su flota en México con inversión de 70 millones de euros
- Xataka México, 2025: DHL invertirá 60 millones de dólares en México previo al Buen Fin 2025