What's the news?
If you've been to London recently, either on business or as a visitor, you might have noticed those electric taxis running about the place - well, the company behind them (the London Electric Vehicle Company, or LEVC) has now added a zero-emissions light commercial vehicle (LCV) to its ranks.
Unveiled in the UK's capital, the LEVC LCV is based on the same e-City range extender technology as the LEVC TX taxi (namely, a 110kW or 150hp electric motor augmented by an 81hp 1.5-litre three-cylinder Volvo petrol engine, which works purely as a range extender for the electric powerplant), the LCV has an all-electric range of 130km and a combined total range of up to 607km.
The LEVC LCV has been designed to meet the increasing global demand for green, electrified commercial vehicles, specifically medium-sized vans capable of moving goods around urban areas efficiently while simultaneously improving air quality. Targeting users who travel 160km per day, the LCV is aiming to not just be a 'last-mile' solution but a 'distribution to door' machine which will help in ultra-low emissions zones.
Jeorg Hofmann, CEO of LEVC, said: "Future urban transport is already changing rapidly and we have a golden opportunity to bring something new and disruptive to this market. The light commercial vehicle sector is the only growing vehicle traffic segment in London. This is due to the rapid rise in internet shopping - the 'Amazon'-isation of retail. Every day there are 65,000 unique LCV journeys into London, but mobility must not come at the expense of air quality. London's ULEZ is a blueprint and all major UK cities will introduce a Clean Air Zone by 2020. There is huge demand for a medium-sized zero emissions capable light van and the solution we offer will be more than capable of meeting the requirements of a rapidly evolving green logistics market."
Anything else?
Although this is clearly aimed at the UK for now, a spokesperson for LEVC confirmed that once the LCV's home-market launch was out of the way in 2020, the plan was to sell the vehicle into wider EU markets from 2021 onwards - and if there was serious interest from the Irish market, then the company would 'look to meet that demand'.