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Electric Vans

Ford Transit Custom Hybrid

Trials of the Ford Transit Custom Hybrid have been confirmed.

This multi-million-pound Ford Transit Custom Hybrid Project from Ford has been designed with the aim to help improve air quality in London.

The 12-month trial begins in London in December 2017, and is supported by Transport for London.

Twenty Plug-in Hybrid Transit Customs will be trialled across London. The first five fleets have been confirmed as:

The Metropolitan Police will trial two of the Transit Custom PHEV vans.  The first will be marked and used as a second response vehicle to traffic accidents and the other will be un-marked and used as a forensic support unit. The PHEV vans are fitted with range extenders, this means that they are capable of longer journeys and essentially, the emergency services will not be limited by their battery mileage range.

Transport for London will also be taking advantage of the range extenders and will be using three PHEV vans for freight services. This will dramatically reduce local emissions by running wholly on electric power for the bulk of inner-city journeys.

The trialling fleets have been selected to gather data from a diverse cross-section of businesses in the City.

The trial Ford Transit Custom PHEV Vehicles will use a telematics system which will provide data on the vehicle statistics. It will monitor their day-to-day usage and provide information on the vehicles’ financial, operational and environmental performance.

Results from these trials will be used to maximise the benefits of this kind of PHEV Vehicles.

When can expect to see the Transit Custom PHEV available to buy?

Ford plans to release the Transit Custom PHEV to the commercial market in 2019.

 Technical Details of the Ford Transit Custom Plug-in Hybrid Engine

The Ford Transit Custom hybrid has a ‘range-extender’ with an electric motor powered by the combination of a lithium-ion battery pack and a tiny 3 cylinder turbo, 1.0 litre EcoBoost petrol engine.

The range extender means that the electric motor always provides power to the wheels, the petrol engine acts as a generator for additional electricity required when the battery has been drained.

Will the Transit Custom PHEV still be practical?

Ford has eliminated the issue of heavy batteries by reducing the number required with the assistance of the small petrol engine.

With this in mind, it is understood that the PHEV will still have a one-tonne payload when it hits the market in 2019. As the battery pack is installed under the floor, the load volume will not be affected.

Advantages of a Plug-in Hybrid Van

The PHEV battery can be pre-charged using mains electricity before your journey. It makes sense to charge the vehicle overnight. The battery within the Transit Custom can offer up to 31 miles of completely emission-free driving.

The PHEV takes away the worry of running out of range that you would have if you were driving an all-electric vehicle. Once the battery is low, you switch to petrol power and then refuel at any petrol station along your route.

Will the Transit Custom Hybrid be suitable to travel into zero-emissions zones?

Using the battery power as much as possible will obviously dramatically reduce the running costs and efficiency. With the ability to switch between battery and petrol power, you can choose to save some of your battery power for the parts of your journey within the ‘low emissions’ zones. Simply switch to battery power on entering these areas.

Will I be restricted in mileage range of the Transit Custom PHEV?

On top of the 31 miles of completely emission-free driving, the extra electricity generated by the Ecoboost petrol engine will mean that the Transit Custom hybrid has a maximum combined range of approximately 355 miles! That’s pretty impressive!

The Transit Custom PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) is the first of Ford’s long-term plan to release 13 new electric vehicles over the next five years.

Trials of the Ford Transit Custom Hybrid have been confirmed.

ULEZ and the impact on pre Euro 6 van owners

Does your business depend on your van / fleet of vans?

Wonder where you stand with Diesel?

It’s no surprise, It doesn’t seem that long ago Diesel engines were praised for their:

  • Great mileage
  • Lack of ignition tune up
  • Longevity
  • Torque

But with the ever increasing need to clean up the air, and the onslaught of electric vehicles, Government and public demand are pushing forward a clean air agenda / future.

One such initiative is ULEZ (Ultra Low Emissions Zones) popping up around the globe, most notably London in 2019.

So how will this impact your business, and what are the alternatives?

When does it start and what are the requirements?

The latest charging zones are set to kick in 8 April 2019 and are the most significant changes since the original congestion charge started back in February 2003.

ULEZ set stringent guidelines for both cars and vans within London, to be exact, petrol cars that don’t meet the Euro 4 emissions standards and diesels that don’t meet the relatively new Euro 6 emission standards, anything outside of this will have an additional £12.50 on top of the already £11.50 charge.

The ULEZ will replace the new T-Charge which will come into place in on the 23rd October, and will charge pre Euro 4 vehicles with an additional £10 to use the congestion zone.

24 hours 7 days a week

Unlike current charging, the new charges will apply 24/7, so there will be no escaping the additional cost by using out of hours, and if that wasn’t enough it’s set to expand everywhere within the North and South Circular roads.

What are my options?

We are already speaking to Trades people, Directors, and fleet managers about how to navigate the upcoming changes,

In real terms, there are 3 options.

Option 1

Euro 6 TDI, still the best option out there, these engines are not affected by the ULEZ, they provide decent MPG and more importantly meet the current emissions levels, and with a wide range of models / Engines, they really are the best choice for anyone looking to upgrade their current van.

But the zones will change, I hear you say.

Of course, however, that’s the benefit of leasing / contract hire.

Have you noticed how every couple of years the Government changes tack, back tracks on policy, or finally catches up with the rest of us?

It doesn’t seem that long ago they were ‘pushing’ diesel vehicles.

With Leasing or contract hire, you can simply upgrade your van every 2-3 years, we’ve previously discussed the benefit of leasing here.

Some of the most popular vans include:

Ford Transit Custom

Volkswagen Transporter Highline

So what are my other options?

Option 2

Go electric.

As it stands Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Renault and the other manufacturers have yet to provide a real alternative to the trusted diesel van.

Seems like they are late to the party, falling behind the much praised Tesla batteries (though to be fair, not many would spend £65,000+ on a 300 mile battery van)

Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell.

One of the few manufacturers who provide a mid sized van, however with a range of 80 miles, it may not get you from A to B.

Citroen Berlingo.

Citroen have taken the very popular Berlingo and made an electric version, makes sense, on paper, however like the Mercedes-Benz this small van is potentially only suitable for London congestion driving / congestion charge, with a range of 105 miles, top speed 70mph it fails to live up to to its internal combustion engine counterpart.

Renault.

A manufacturer who has shown perhaps the most guts when it comes to electric vehicles, (look at Renault Zoe and the latest Renault Zoe with 250 miles ranges)

However, both their vehicles are sub 200.

Renault Master ZE

The largest van in the list, with a range of 90 – 100 miles.

Renault Kangoo ZE

The best range of the lot, 167 miles. perhaps for those in the inner city, a real alternative for those looking for a small van?

Option 3

Petrol Engines.

In a recent blog post we discussed the upcoming Volkswagen Transporter TSI, however, these will be in limited number and arguably you’d still be better off with the EURO 6 TDi engines (except the ULEZ).

Does your business depend on your van / fleet of vans?

The VW I.D. BUZZ Concept, Finally an electric VW bus that will make it to production

This week at the Detroit motor show VW showcased their latest concept electric bus.

Called the iD1 it’s potentially the closest VW have come to a production electric van, and it has some neat features, could this be the next Bus from VW that will entice a new generation of fans?

If we sound cautious it’s because this isn’t the first time VW have teased us with future electric vehicles, does anyone remember:

Volkswagen XL1


Volkswagen e-Bugster

Volkswagen Bulli

Volkswagen Budde

Is this a knee-jerk reaction to Dieselgate!

I’d argue not.

Yes, VW have been hit hard, $14.7 Billion  and with further action pending (us brits are to get in on the suit) that’s going to further hit them hard.

However, thanks largely in part to Elon Musk  and his Tesla company  the expansion of electric vehicles is starting to see a real surge.

And for good reason.

It’s not all about the green brigade.

The rhetoric about electric cars used to be
“They’re ugly but great for the environment”.

Not anymore, take a look at the Tesla P100D a 5 seat executive car which sits perfectly next to luxury sedans, it can go 0-60 in 2.4 seconds (yes you read that right 2.4!!!) that’s hypercar territory like the 2.4 million euros Bugatti Chiron – coincidentally owned by VW (0-60 seconds 2.3 seconds).

Or the Tesla X and it’s ability to seat up to 7 adults with plenty of cabin space, Falcon wing doors, and autonomous driving.

And many more are on the way…..

Rimac

A Croatian manufacturer leading the way as an electric supercar manufacturer.

  • 1,088BHP
  • 0-100Kmh 2.6seconds
  • top speed 355Km/h
  • Torque 1600Nm

Lucid Motors

Potential Tesla Rival

  • 400 mile range
  • Spacious Interior
  • Autonomous  & connected driving

Faraday Future 91

Chinesse backed startup, recently showcasing their car at CES 2017

  • Face recognition
  • Autonomous driving/parking
  • 0-60 seconds 2.3 seconds

Even Chevrolet last year released a $35,000 electric vehicle named the Volt, let’s not forget they are owned by General Motors who shelved the ‘ahead of it’s time EV1’ – watch Who killed the electric car! If they are getting serious, that says a lot about the momentum of the electric car.

Diesel gate or no, this was inevitable.

Finally electric cars provide real advantages over older Internal Combustion Engines (ICE)

Instant torque – electric cars are QUICK!

Space and agility- with none of the associated bits from exhausts, turbos, large engine, only a flat battery on the floor of the car, electric cars provide uncompromised space for interiors and a low center of gravity, for handling, perfect for a VW Bus.

Expanding recharging infrastructure – seems Tesla is the golden child when it comes foreseeing the need for both range and the ability to recharge,

Tesla currently have 5,043 Superchargers worldwide (as of Jan 2017), but they are not the only ones, a recent Reuters article outlines the expansion and investment by Europe’s biggest car manufacturers in advance of the upcoming electric car movement.

Secondly, Battery tech. the advent of Lithium Ion batteries enabled Elon Musk to produce the original Tesla E, a car, at the time capable of 215 miles per charge (recently upgraded to now over 330 miles).

The electric car went from a home to shop car,  into a realistic ICE replacement.

And the future of battery technology promises, super fast charging, longer range, and is getting cheaper by the day, for an interesting read just Google Graphene super capacitors

In the past, VW had the luxury of showcasing electric cars that wouldn’t see the light of day, and from a business standpoint it made sense, feel good factor for the general public all without taking up too many resources.

However, both the public are calling for electric cars and the technology is finally here to provide a REAL alternative to the ICE.

So would an electric VW be a truly great upgrade?

Yes, for the following reasons it would be great to finally get from concept to production.

  • Open interior allowing multiple seating configurations.
  • 0-60 time around 5 seconds, or half that of the current VW T6.
  • 373 miles per charge, expanding recharge infrastructure.
  • Cheaper refueling/recharge cost.
  • Autonomous driving.
  • Zero tailpipe emissions.

And the pictures certainly look impressive, let’s hope this is finally a concept that comes to light.

What do you think?

Will VW finally release a concept electric vehicle and deliver enmass to the general public.

This week at the Detroit motor show VW showcased their latest concept electric bus.

Swiss Vans is based in Bridgend, South Wales. We have combined experience of over 30 years in car and van sales, and our strong connections with manufacturers and suppliers mean we can always get you the best van at the best price. We supply throughout the UK, and we’re one of the largest here or in Europe. Even though we order more vehicles than anyone else in the country, we still treat every customer as an individual.

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Swiss Vans Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for Consumer Credit activities, our Firm Reference Number (FRN) is 668283. Swiss Vans Ltd is a Credit Broker not a Lender We may charge a processing fee between £250 plus VAT and £500 plus VAT. We receive financial remuneration which may be variable or pre-set dependent on the product and the volume that we place with that organisation. The amounts that we receive may vary. If you would like more information in regard to the disclosure of commission, please visit www.fca.org.uk. Swiss Vans Ltd is an Appointed Representative of AutoProtect (MBI) Limited for insurance distribution purposes. AutoProtect (MBI) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, Firm Reference Number – 312143. Our FCA permitted business is arranging general insurance and finance products. You can check this on the FCA Register by visiting the www.fca.org.uk

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