Electric vehicles were particularly advantageous on short trips and with small transport loads. The post office used them mainly in local and suburban areas. The EL 2500 E postal parcel van from the Maschinenfabrik Esslingen manufacturing company documents the development of these vehicles in the 1950s. It was used until 1975 by the Freiburg post office, and traveled a total distance of 39,000 miles. The average distance traveled each day was 11 miles, and its maximum speed was 17 miles per hour.