ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Is the sector growing up?

Date: Friday, August 24, 2018

 

Simon Cook

Arval LCV leader Simon Cook

Cook also reckons there’s a demand for plug-in hybrid panel vans from the delivery sector and elsewhere.

Currently, there are no such models on sale in the UK, but Ford is trialling a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid Transit Custom in London and in Valencia in Spain, prior to the production version’s proposed on-sale date in 2019.  

“That would absolutely answer the question about electric operation but also with the ability to switch to petrol when you need to.

“I think the only challenge there is payload, which, if you’re adding an engine to an already heavy vehicle with batteries etc, you could end up with a compromise. But if you could get the technology lighter, with a longer range, and have a hybrid or even a diesel-electric hybrid that’s light enough, then I think we could start to really make changes in this industry.”

An increase in the payloads of battery-powered LCVs could also broaden the remit for manufacturers and bolster UK sales. In May, the government concluded a consultation that, among other areas – such as addressing a proposed change to the existing van VED structure – proposed to raise the payload for electric vans from the current 3.5t to 4.25t to account for the additional weight of batteries - an increase which has now been introduced.

“That will help payload,” insists Cook, who adds: “When they increase the gross vehicle weight to 4.25t it will better allow for the battery technology in those specific vehicles. Just by increasing the vehicle weight from 3.5t to 4.25t you end up effectively negating the problem with heavy batteries.

“It won’t help with range or any of the other issues typically associated with electric LCVs, but it will help with payload.

“There are challenges there, but I guess what manufacturers will do is use some of that additional payload weight to give the battery more power for a longer range.”

Renault Master Z.E (1)

Renault launched its Master Z.E. at the CV Show

Plugging the gap: charging infrastructure and large vans

Although a welcome prospect for many LCV operators, large electric vans bring their own set of problems, namely that they may be too big to access a lot of public charging points, often housed in parking spaces. Granted, charging for most vehicles used in a fleet capacity typically takes place at the depot, but a potential inability to top up at public charge points adds an extra layer of complication, especially for smaller outfits potentially more reliant on them.

“Large electric vans could be trickier to get into the standard roadside bays depending on where you charge on the vehicle,” says David Martell, chief executive of EV charging firm Chargemaster. “If they charge where the fuel port normally is – behind the cab, down low – that’s not where most cars are charging, because they’re typically right at the front or right at the back. If you’ve got a cable, it’s fine, but if you’re rapid charging, the ideal place is pretty much right on the nose.

“We tend to put rapid chargers [the highest voltage types that top up the battery in the shortest time] in bays, so our typical layout would be in a dual parking bay, nose-on. With a 3.5-tonner – a large Transit van or Crafter-type vehicle – as long as the charging port is within reach of a rapid charger, you should still be able to reach it. If it’s a standard parking bay for on-street post or something like that, then it is more of a challenge.  

“Manufacturers need to put charging ports in a sensible location. If you park nose-in at a depot, you’re probably going to want it at the front. You might have different chassis cabs, but the bit of the vehicle at the front is always going to stay the same. The good thing about the charging port is that you don’t have to run quite complex fuel lines through to it from a tank; it’s fairly flexible in terms of where you can locate it on the vehicle.”



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