London Taxi manufacturer reveals petrol-electric van

Date: Wednesday, June 19, 2019 | Author: James Dallas

LEVC has revealed its zero-emission capable light van that uses the e-City range extender technology employed in its TX electric taxi.

The company claims the van has an electric range of 80 miles and a total petrol and electric range of 377 miles, meaning it can enter low-emission zones having collected cargo from out of town distribution centres.

The van, which is set to go on sale towards the end of next year, was unveiled on 17 June by London mayor Sadiq Khan and LEVC boss Joerg Hofmann at the Institution of Engineering and Technology during an event at which the mayor committed to introduce five new flagship charging hubs, a new rapid charging infrastructure and a dedicated ‘one-stop-shop’ to handle infrastructure enquiries.

LEVC says the van is targeted at operators who travel around 100 miles a day, not just last mile, collecting goods from out of town depots in range extender mode before switching to electric mode in ultra-low emission zones. LEVC claims this is a sector of the market currently dominated by 1.0-tonne medium-sized diesel vans.

“The light commercial vehicle sector is the only growing vehicle traffic segment in London,” said Hofmann.

“This is due to the rapid rise in internet shopping – the Amazonisation of retail. Every day there are 65,000 unique LCV journeys into London, but mobility must not come at the expense of air quality. London’s ULEZ is a blueprint and all major UK cities will introduce a Clean Air Zone by 2020.

“There is huge demand for a medium-sized zero emissions capable light van and the solution we offer will be more than capable of meeting the requirements of a rapidly evolving green logistics market.”

LEVC predicted 40% of vans in London would be electric by 2030, rising to 100% 10 years later.

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