E Transporter

[Bryn23]

I know a lot of people are expecting the iBuzz van, but its a little more realistic that they shoehorn in an electric solution into the current setup for the time being.

The 74.6 kW option battery gives about 400km range, which isn't too bad.

For small countries like UK, and if you like to camper at powered sites, it could work as a camper.


Volkswagen Transporter, Caddy go electric with ABT | CarAdvice

It's going to be interesting to see whats available in the next 5-7 years.

Love to see a 150-200 kW battery powered AWD (dual engine front and rear) Crafter with a 1000km range and inbuilt 230 volt power.

 

[Tourershine]

As a business that during our peak times, can spend several thousand pounds a month on diesel, I cannot wait for this to be moved into a Transporter. (i'd even consider a different manufacture if they got there first, which would be a huge shame)
We are quite an expensive business anyway, but that's only because of the nature of what we do. My prices haven't changed for years, and with diesel prices going up so quickly, we have to absorb a lot of this, or we'd end up pricing ourselves out of business.

I could potentially work with a 400km range but it would be a logistical headache, and would only work if charging at a customers home whilst we worked was an option.

I think 5-7 years is too long in the current pace of development. I'm betting bigger Electric commercial vehicles will be a realistic option in the next 2-4 years.

 

[Bryn23]

There is no doubt there will be a range electric commercial vehicles in the next 2-4 years, i just think there will be teething issues until say 2023-25, then there will be a greater range of options.

One issue is range and how to charge while out and about, for a start, councils need to start looking at fitting charging stations in the commercial parking zones and buildings need to fit fast chargers in the loading dock areas.

You make a good point about customer based charging as an option, but for fast charing you need at least 15 amp, most homes don't have that kind of setup.

I do think this will move quickly, its just trying to get everyone to move to the next step in a unified direction

 

[Tourershine]

There is no doubt there will be a range electric commercial vehicles in the next 2-4 years, i just think there will be teething issues until say 2023-25, then there will be a greater range of options.

One issue is range and how to charge while out and about, for a start, councils need to start looking at fitting charging stations in the commercial parking zones and buildings need to fit fast chargers in the loading dock areas.

You make a good point about customer based charging as an option, but for fast charing you need at least 15 amp, most homes don't have that kind of setup.

I do think this will move quickly, its just trying to get everyone to move to the next step in a unified direction

It amazes me that all the manufactures haven't pooled their resources to push this through faster, but the sceptic in me thinks it's not in the governments interest to roll this whole electric vehicle thing out too quickly. Like everything in life, if it's bad for us, or the environment, it's normally good for the public purse, or they'd of banned smoking years ago.

 

[Bryn23]

Yeah it would have made sense to combine their resources to come up with a unified charging system to get the costs down and increase the speed of the role out.

I can understand that the government, makes a lot of $$$ from fossil based transport, but everyone can see that this is the future, so it makes sense to start implementing a large scale charging roll out.

I wouldn't be surprised to see fast food joints and shopping centres offer charging options in there carparks in the near future.

 

[Tourershine]

I wouldn't be surprised to see fast food joints and shopping centres offer charging options in there carparks in the near future.

Personally, I think induction charging within certain roads would be a good option, but this would take years to install, and the disruption would make our roads even worse for delays. Roll on the future I say.