Heated and cooled seats, heated windscreens, adaptive cruise control… Van drivers are about to become more comfortable than owners of premium cars, as van makers focus on tackling the so-far near impossible job of converting buyers to electric power.
Unless the legislation is relaxed, van makers selling in the UK have to increase the amount of EVs they sell to 16% of their total this year, up from 10% last year.
Going by January’s figure, at just 7% of the total, according to the SMMT, they’ve got a huge mountain to climb to persuade buyers out of their drivetrain of choice: diesel.
The government has helped by announcing on 25 February that it would extend its Plug-in Van Grant for another year, handing van buyers £2500 off the cost of smaller EVs and £5000 off larger EVs (up to 4.25 tonnes).
That closes the gap to diesel vans, but fleet managers, small businesses and sole traders are going to need more. This is where makers of newer, high-tech vans think they can gain an edge.
Newly revealed or imminent vans from Kia, Geely-owned Farizon, Renault and Mercedes-Benz are selling buyers on the benefits of vans that have been designed as EVs from the start, rather than based on a converted ICE platform.
Unlike the shaky start from 'disruptors' like Arrival and Rivian, the next wave of electric vans are being developed by global giants with plenty of financial muscle to see their plans through.
Farizon began its campaign to persuade British fleets of its SV – a rival to the Ford Transit Custom - with a blanket invite to managers to come and test the van at the Millbrook proving ground last week.
Take-up was bigger than the Chinese brand expected, revealed UK boss Tom Carney. “That fact that it is designed from ground-up as an electric van is intriguing to fleets,” he said.
Farizon is pitching the SV head on at the likes of the electric Transit Connect and Peugeot e-Expert with a £45,000 starting price. But its standard equipment levels are far higher, including a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, heated windscreen, a 360deg camera and a touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. An automatic gearbox is a given, of course.
The pitch to the fleet manager is a van that acts as a mobile job-retention machine. Why would your gas fitters or delivery drivers jump ship when the craft they’re piloting is so comfortable?
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