CARGO: A Co-Optimization Framework for EV Charging and Routing in Goods Delivery Logistics

These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract --With growing interest in sustainable logistics, electric vehicle (EV)-based deliveries offer a promising alternative for urban distribution. This depends on factors such as the charging point (CP) availability, cost, proximity, and vehicles' state of charge (SoC). We propose CARGO, a framework addressing the EV-based delivery route planning problem (EDRP), which jointly optimizes route planning and charging for deliveries within time windows. After proving the problem's NP-hardness, we propose a mixed integer linear programming (MILP)-based exact solution and a computationally efficient heuristic method. Using real-world datasets, we evaluate our methods by comparing the heuristic to the MILP solution, and benchmarking it against baseline strategies, Earliest Deadline First (EDF) and Nearest Delivery First (NDF). The results show up to 39% and 22% reductions in the charging cost over EDF and NDF, respectively, while completing comparable deliveries. Delivery systems form the backbone of modern logistics, facilitating the movement of goods across regional, inter-city, and urban networks [1]. These systems face increasing pressure to remain cost-efficient, responsive, and scalable amid growing demand for fast, flexible services.