There are a lot of murmurs in the press at present about the longevity of the battery in an electric vehicle, and whether these are truly practical for those who spend the majority of their time on the road (like our couriers). In case you were worried that any shift to electric will impact our same day delivery timescales, we’re here to reassure you that won’t be the case!
Whilst there’s no denying the attractiveness of using an all-electric vehicle, and changes are of course imminent with the UK government bringing forward the deadline to stop petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, moving to electric does not have to mean same day deliveries aren’t possible.
Electric Van Capabilities
The first electric vans on the UK market did tend to have a lower payload in terms of range than current models (dependent on model and weather), but current models are offering up to 130 miles on a single charge (again, dependent on van model and weather conditions).
The LDV EV80, for example, offers up to 127 miles (average) on a single charge and only takes an hour to fully recharge on a 50kW charging point; not bad going for a van offering 92kW (around 123hp) and 320Nm of torque. Given it also has a load volume of 10.2 cubic metres, it’s big enough to courier the majority of the “typical” items carried by your average courier.
Even with a cynical “realistic” head on, an electric van that can offer around 100 miles on a single charge is going to be able to pick up an item in say, Birmingham, and deliver it safely, same day, in a safe 80 mile radius. Running low on charge won’t be the end of the world either if it only takes an hour to fully recharge. Potential issues will come for all longer distance drivers in the availability of charging points, not the vehicle specs themselves.
Whilst we aren’t going to say a switch to fully electric vehicles will be seamless, as long as the infrastructure is in place at all major service stations, motorways and in cities/large towns, keeping an electric van on the road long enough to deliver an item from start to finish in the same day should not be a problem. Famous last words perhaps, but we aren’t averse to change and will continue to tailor our business and offerings to the best we can offer with the technology in place.
Related Links:
- Auto Express Best Electric Van Guide 2020 –
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/vans/105891/best-electric-vans-2020
- Our Same Day Delivery Service: