There is a lot of good news in the UK van market. Deliveries of battery-electric vans were up by 32.7% last month compared to March 2022. This was driven by an increasing choice of models, which makes switching to zero emission vehicles more compelling. 2,534 BEV vans were sold in March. The electric van market share for the month was 5.3% of the UKs LCV market which an important number. 5% market share is seen as a key milestone and tipping point for EV adoption.
There is a good selection of electric vans you can buy or lease now in the UK. These include the Mercedes eSprinter/Mercedes eVito, the SAIC Maxus eDeliver 3, the Citroen e-Relay/Peugeot e-Boxer/Vauxhall, the Ford E-Transit, Citroen, e-Belingo/Peugeot e-Partner/Toyota Proace, Renault Master E-Tech, and the Vauxhall e-Vivaro. On the smaller end, one can even get a Renault Zoe Van or a Citroen Ami Cargo.
The bad news is that there just aren’t enough electric vans on the market to meet the growing demand. As reported in a recent article on Reuters, fleet operators are complaining about the limited supply of electric vans from the traditional providers such as Ford, Stellantis, Renault, and Mercedes. Fleet operators have to scramble to get some vans as soon as they arrive at dealerships.
One company that has moved early to supply electric vans in decent volumes is SAIC. SAIC has been offering the eDeliver 3 and the larger eDeliver 9 electric vans in the UK. The report from Reuters says that SAIC has the largest market share in Europe in the electric commercial vehicle sector with close to a 6% market share. The report also says SAIC sold nearly 5,000 electric commercial vehicles last year in the UK.
SAIC is now looking to build on that and grow its lead position in the market. The company has just launched the new Maxus eDeliver 7 electric van. The eDeliver 7 is positioned right in between the eDeliver 3 and the eDeliver 9.
Here are some of the specs of the eDeliver 7:
- Payload: 1135 kg
- Max. Power: 150 kW
- Usable Battery Capacity: 77 kWh
- Drive Type: RHD
- Max Torque: 330 Nm
- Number of seats: 2
- Energy Consumption WLTP Combined: 26.12 (kWh/100km)
- Charging Time, AC charger: (11 kW, 5-100%) 8h
- Charging Time (DC 20-80%): (DC 90 KW, 150A) 43 minutes
- Range WLTP Combined: 315 km
- Maximum Speed: 90 km/h (ECO), 120 km/h (Normal, Power)
- Suspension Front: Independent Suspension
- Rear: Leaf Spring Suspension
- Dimensions: L×W×H (mm) 5364 x 2030 x 1990
- Wheel base: 3366 mm
- Cargo volume: 6.7 m³
Commenting on the electric van market recently, the UK’s Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) spoke about some of the challenges in the sector. The SMMT said infrastructure remains the biggest barrier to uptake, however, with a paucity of charging points that are both suitable in size and location for van use. The SMMT says the recent publication of a Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate will compel a rapid increase in the sale of zero emission vans and is due to come into force in less than nine months. Infrastructure providers can therefore use the certainty this provides and catch up with the commitments made by vehicle manufacturers by investing now in infrastructure that gives more operators the confidence to transition.
As part of the Powering Up Britain Plan, the UK government says reducing carbon emissions in the transport network will be key to reaching net zero, and therefore the government is investing a further £381 million by launching the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure fund, along with £15 million for the On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme, to help install tens of thousands of new chargers across the country, alongside private sector investment. This move will help tackle some of the issues on the charging infrastructure side.
Vans play a crucial role in the transport sector and the diesel ones are a major contributor of emissions. It is really great to see more electric van models are now available and that sales are starting to grow quite nicely as well as new models such as the eDeliver 7 are being introduced into the UK market. Hopefully more electric van manufacturers will scale up production quickly to meet the growing demand for electric vans.
Images courtesy of Maxus
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