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Is the Einride Pod the future of autonomous electric freight vehicles?

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By Farooq Baloch, WhichEV

Since 2017, the UK Government has had in place the outline rules for testing autonomous vehicles on UK roads. Those rules have recently been updated and many more companies are looking at ways in which transportation in general (and goods in particular) can be automated with advanced electric vehicles across the nation’s road network.

Einride believes that the future of transport is electric, autonomous and digital – with a focus on zero-emissions and self-driving vehicles, coordinated by an intelligent network. This could well provide a cleaner and safer way to transport huge volumes of cargo, but how will we know if it is safe?

The Einride Pod has no room for a driver on board and, in that sense, is very similar to Volvo’s Vera – first showcases in London at the Freight in the City show back in 2019.

You can read more about Einride over at WhichEV.

Here’s how to choose the best electric truck for your business

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Feep in the Bedfordshire countryside is a unique testing facility called the Millbrook Proving Grounds. Tucked behind a small forest of trees are several private tracks allowing you to test a vehicle in every environment possible – from small town to race track, extreme hills to extreme bumps and undulations. WhichEV was invited along to see the latest electric commercial vehicles from DAF, Volvo and Renault by the SMMT.

In one of the rare few places in the UK where you can drive a 26 ton truck without an HGV license, we put these silent monsters through their paces, trying to decide: Are UK businesses ready for the move to electrification and, if so, what would be the best electric truck for your business?

When WhichEV visited Renault’s new electric mobility factory in Blainville-Sur-Orne back in March, its team were given a detailed breakdown of their plans to move the world’s transport systems from diesel to electricity. Alongside Volvo (part of the same group) and DAF (which has been supplying commercial vehicles for close to 100 years), Renault will play a major role in moving commercial haulage away from fossil fuels.

Click here to read WhichEV’s hands-on with three of the main contenders for the switchover.

Factors to consider before getting your first electric car

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By James Morris, Which EV

Ten years after Nissan began selling the Leaf in UK showrooms, the UK market for electric vehicles finally took off in 2020. Now, almost 15% of all the cars sold so far in 2022 are pure electric, but with so many options to choose from, it can be difficult to pick the best car for your needs. To help you make that choice, we’ve covered the six most important questions you need to answer before making your purchase or starting a new lease.

So what are the major factors you need to consider? Click here to read WhichEV’s guide for fleet and private users.

LEVC has now sold 7,000 TX ‘electrictaxis’ globally

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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LEVC (London Electric Vehicle Company) has marked a major milestone of 7,000 global sales of its TX ‘electrictaxi’, and has given Londoners the chance to hail a ride for free.

From Thursday 19th May until Thursday 26th May, there will be three unique ‘celebration cabs’ roaming around central London. Each will be kitted out with a unique exterior, as well as a special surprise inside for passengers to enjoy, celebrating not only 7,000 global TX sales but also the upcoming Jubilee.

Over the next seven days, anyone who hails one of the three distinctive taxis will be able to travel from their pick-up point to any destination within the North and South Circular, with the fare being picked up by LEVC.

Since launching in 2018, the TX has provided sustainable transport to both owners and passengers in more than 20 countries. Over the last four years, LEVC claims its electric TX taxi has travelled more than 418 million miles globally and prevented 127,000 tonnes of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere.

LEVC’s TX has flexible space for up to six passengers, the vehicle includes an integrated wheelchair ramp, enabling it to accommodate a forward-facing wheelchair – the only taxi of its kind to do so. The TX’s eCity technology provides a pure EV range of more than 64 miles and a total range-extended capacity of 318 miles.

Joerg Hofmann, CEO of LEVC, said: “LEVC is proud to have sold 7,000 electric TX taxis across the globe. The iconic black cab can now be seen from Paris to Madrid and Cairo to Tokyo; it truly is a vehicle for everyone, everywhere.

“As the iconic “black cab” is an integral part of the London landscape, we wanted to mark 7,000 global sales of our TX in the capital. As the British population will also be celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s reign of 70 years, we felt it was appropriate to bring a classic British street party theme to our three celebration cabs.

“The black cab has been a familiar sight on city streets for more than a hundred years and today’s TX has never been more fit for purpose. Offering unrivalled accessibility, capable of zero emissions  and eliminating range anxiety, the TX is the ideal choice for both cab-drivers and passengers in any city.”

RoSPA study says e-scooters far safer than bicycles

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By Farooq Beloch, WhichEV 
As a new study from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reveals that electric scooters are five times safer than bicycles: Are we about to see new legislation which revolutionises inner city travel?
Given that scooters are likely to be limited on speed, not raw power – will the UK Government allow for a broader definition of ‘electric scooter’, that might open up new ‘last mile’ delivery options for companies that want to show their green credentials?

Veolia rolls out its first renewable-fuelled fleet

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Broadland District Council has announced the launch of a contract for all waste collection services including residual, recycling and food waste and for street cleaning with Veolia – which is deploying a renewably-fuelled fleet for the first time.

The 10 year contract that started in April 2022 has an option for an extension of up to a further 10 years.

Reducing energy consumption and reaching carbon neutrality is essential for combating climate change and the new contract includes a commitment to reduce operational emissions and to develop low carbon solutions. This supports Broadland District Council’s priority to protect the environment and for continuous environmental improvement.

Every vehicle in the fleet is fully powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a bio-based liquid fuel made from vegetable oils and animal fats. HVO is a low carbon, low emission, fossil-free and sustainable alternative to conventional fossil diesel which eliminates up to 90% of net CO2 and reduces nitrogen oxide (NOX), particulate matter (PM) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions.

HVO fuel is fully interchangeable with conventional diesel and can be used pure or blended with fossil diesel if required. The fleet in the Broadland district will be solely powered by HVO in a first for Veolia in the UK.

Councillor Judy Leggett, portfolio holder for Environmental Excellence, said: “We’re very pleased to be continuing our very successful working relationship with Veolia through the award of this major new contract. The contract brings together an excellent service for residents with innovative new approaches which will help to make our waste and recycling services more effective and even more environmentally friendly. This new contract will help drive us towards our aim of being carbon neutral well ahead of the Government’s 2050 target.”

Pascal Hauret, Managing Director Municipal, Veolia UK said: “We’re delighted to launch our first fully HVO powered fleet in Broadland. HVO significantly reduces CO2 emissions so this is a hugely positive step in our shared commitment to net zero. Importantly, whilst the availability of HVO is still limited in the UK, Veolia has secured a guaranteed supply for the entire contract term.”

The new contract also offers residents an enhanced service with the introduction of weekly kerbside collections of small electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) and textile collections.

The Council will continue to roll out food waste collections and will now be able to achieve its goal of food waste collections to all Broadland residents in 2023.

The WhichEV guide to EV charging made easy

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Charging your EV should be easy. In fact, it should be as easy as the experience people have putting petrol in their internal combustion cars. But some of the time it isn’t. This is frequently used by EV haters as an excuse to avoid switching to an EV, or even to vocally criticise them on social media.

However, a lot of this is merely a cultural change. In the same way that you need to avoid putting petrol in your diesel car (and vice versa), an EV owner needs to know their CHAdeMO from their CCS, their AC from their DC, and other characteristics of their vehicle’s charging capabilities. This WhichEV guide is here to help you navigate the cultural shift, to help you make EV charging easier.

Click here to read the full article.

EV sales for March up 79% year-on-year

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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By James Morris, WhichEV

Almost 40,000 new electric cars were registered in March 2022, an increase of 79% on the previous year.

While the increase was spread across a number of popular models from Stellantis, VW and Hyundai – the sales data from Tesla really stood out.

Considering the average price of a new petrol or diesel car in 2021 was around £22,000, the big sellers in March 2022 were the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 – occupying number 1 and 2 spots for March.

On a ‘year-to-date’ basis, they are now the 6th and 7th best selling cars, respectively. What makes that unusual, is that a Model 3 will cost you an average of £45,000 and the Model Y closer to £55,000.

In the past, that kind of money would normally be reserved for executive cars from Mercedes, Lexus and BMW – none of which have a model in the Top 10 so far this year.

Looking at the growth in EV sales, it’s worth noting that the overall car market declined by more than 14% – driven mostly by a drop of more than 55% in diesel registrations.

With diesel prices close to £1.80 a litre and most energy suppliers still offering electricity at lower rates overnight, we’re only going to see an increase in momentum from polluting, fossil fuel cars to cleaner, cheaper-to-run EVs.

Rapidly declining resale values on fossil fuel cars, over the coming years, will only see the rate of change accelerating.

Click here to read more.

Industry welcomes £450m government EV charge point investment

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By James Morris, WhichEV

More EVs were sold in 2021 than in the previous decade. With close to 450,000 EVs on our roads today, the 30,000 public chargers that are available to the public are clearly not enough.

To help bridge the gap, the Government has confirmed a direct contribution of £450 million alongside a massive investment from the private sector. This programme has been driven by the Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, and has been applauded by industry leaders like Ian Johnston from Osprey Charging.

WhichEV looks at the details and evaluates the impact this money is likely to have – Click here to read more.

Electrification of van fleets ‘requires new approach’

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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New managerial solutions may be needed for some fleets in order to overcome the inherent operational limitations of van electrification.

That’s according to Peter Golding, managing director at the fleet software specialist Fleet Check, who says it’s becoming clear that compromises in terms of range and payload would have unavoidable real world impacts for a significant minority of operators.

He explained: “Fleets have found that car electrification is a relatively simple affair. Electric cars can simply be substituted for their petrol and diesel equivalents in the vast majority of cases with no real issues.

“For some van operators, the situation is similar. If your driver has access to home charging and your eLCV covers no more than perhaps 120 miles in a day with a light load, then everything is relatively simple.

“However, if you need vans to cover long motorway journeys with a full load on a cold day, and your driver is one of the many who don’t have access to off-street parking and therefore can’t have a charger fitted, then the picture is quite different.

“For some fleets, this means that electric vans are simply incompatible with their current operations. A few are hanging on to see whether hydrogen will emerge as an alternative but that remains a marginal choice because of the absence of refuelling infrastructure. The bottom line is that new operational solutions may need to be found to enable electrification. The way in which your fleet is currently organised and used may no longer be appropriate.”

Golding said that fleets were beginning to discuss a range of possible options, with some very creative thinking being proposed.

“One idea that is gaining some traction is the possibility of using vans as shared transport resources. This could work for courier companies, for example. Instead of three electric vans being used on the same long delivery route, three could be shared across shorter runs.

“There is also talk of exploring what is called backloading in the heavy goods world where an effort is made to ensure that no vehicle returns from a long delivery run with an empty payload, instead being effectively rented to a third party.”

Golding added that new approaches may also need to be adopted that would change the working day of employees, building charging times into how their work is structured.

“Most route planning is currently undertaken on the basis that mileage and payload are effectively limitless but that will obviously change. It could be that routes will need to be planned where driver breaks are planned around access to charging points and indeed, this is something that is already happening on fleets where eLCVs are being adopted.”

Golding concluded that the fleet sector needed to be open about this subject in general and adopt an approach of knowledge sharing, where best practise experience was widely discussed.

“The fact is that, outside of a few major businesses, electric vans remain something of a rarity and operational experience is so far relatively limited. What is needed is a very open level of discussion about the real world solutions that are enabling fleets to operate most effectively.

“We are certainly encouraging this across our user base and some other organisations, notably the AFP, are also establishing excellent forums. Van electrification means that fleet management will have to change for some fleets, and the key to a successful shift over the next few years will be identifying solutions that work for all.”