Electric van range to be made available in the UK

Britain is expected to become the home of the world’s first mass-produced extended-range electric delivery van with the launch of the Emerald T-001 taking place in 2017.

The delivery van will include a battery-only range of 66 miles with capacity for an additional 342 miles using the four-cylinder engine. It will be capable of transporting 1400kg worth of goods and has a top speed of 85mph.

The Emerald T-001 is part of a £250m investment which will create approximately 1,000 new jobs at the new production facility in Coventry where the vans will be built, alongside a sibling taxi model.

Light commercial vehicles (LCV) are currently almost all diesel and the rise of internet shopping has resulted in deliveries impacting negatively on the average LCV mileage. Zero-emission deliveries would bring new life to the market and help to decrease the yearly 47 billion UK LCV miles.

It had previously been thought that developing pure electric delivery vehicles was not possible, as industry experts claimed that the weight of a large battery pack would reduce the vehicle payload dramatically. Developments in the size and weight of the battery has meant that the vision has turned it into a reality.

We’re looking forward to seeing the developments surrounding this electric LCV, but if you can’t wait, Green Motion already has a variety of low CO2 vans available for hire.

Green Motion car and van hire service is available in a number of locations around the UK. For more information or to book your vehicle, call us on 0333 888 4000 today.