Addax to Fiat
08-August-2021
Nissan to Volvo
08-August-2021Ford – Fuso – GM – Goupil – Ineos – Isuzu – Iveco – JLC EV – KGM – Kia – LDV – Ligier – LTI Vehicles – Lunaz – Magtec – MAN – Maxus – MellowVan – Mercedes-Benz – MEV – MicroVolt – Modec – Morris Commercial – Munro
Ford
Up until the 2020s Ford took a tangential interest in electric vehicles in the UK – limited development of its own, and provision of base vehicles for others to convert to battery power. A possible exception was the Ford Transit Connect electric, which was developed in the United States with Azure Dynamics, and was potentially going to be available in Britain from June 2011. But none were sold.
That stance changed in 2022 with the announcement of a full production version of its immensely successful Transit van, and a commitment that by 2035 its commercial range would be entirely battery-powered. Despite being one of the world’s biggest van producers, Ford took its time making a full commitment to go electric. It was the market leader in Europe and realised that it had to get its electric van exactly right if it was to maintain this position.
Originally developed in the UK and West Germany in the 1960s, the Transit was a global product and vans for the British market were built by Ford Otosan in Turkiye. The first electric Transit model announced (in March 2022) was the E-Transit, aimed at the 3.5 t to 4.25 t GVW sector.
The E-Transit emphasised power as well as range. There was a choice of 135 kW and 198 kW motors, and a range up to 196 miles. The 60 kWh battery used the same technology employed on Ford’s electric Mustang Mach E SUV, hence the ability to install such a powerful motor. Compared with the ICE range, the E-Transit had a new rear subframe and coil springs at the back to make room for the battery pack and rear-mounted motor.
The maximum possible payload was 1,758 kg and interior payload volumes extended from 9.5 cu m to 15.1 cu m, depending on the specification chosen. 25 variants were available, with combinations of length and height, and in panel van, double cab in van (with a second row of seats) and chassis-cab format.
Externally, the E-Transit looked very much like its ICE siblings. Detail changes were made to improve the aerodynamics, and the radiator grille was replaced with a distinctive panel with electric blue trim and a hatch containing the re-charging socket.
Among the factory-approved conversions available, there were a refrigerated box body, a drop-side for construction applications, and a caged tipper to carry refuse, green waste, etc. The van also featured the ProPower socket enabling craft tools and other gear to be powered from the vehicle battery (useful at remote work locations).
AC and DC charging were offered. The 11.3kW on-board AC charger could completely recharge the battery in just over eight hours. Connecting to a 115kW DC rapid charger could take the battery from 15% to 80% charge in just over half an hour.
Much of the development of the E-Transit was done in Britain, at Ford’s global centre of commercial excellence in Dunton, Essex. Ten prototypes were put through extensive road and track tests, including in the most extreme climatic conditions. Vans were also placed in trails for six or twelve months with existing Ford customers such as Balfour Beatty, DHL Express, DPD and Ocado. The E-Transit went on sale in Britain in 2023.
The smaller E-Transit Courier was introduced in 2024. In July 2022, Ford announced that its Craiova factory in Romania would be transferred to the ownership of Ford Otosan and become a major centre for the production of electric commercial vehicles. It would be the home of the Transit Courier range.
The E-Transit Courier was developed from the Puma passenger car, but with an entirely different body. It was the smallest true electric van available in the UK, as opposed to vans derived directly from cars by taking out the back seats and blanking the adjacent windows.
It offered 2.9 cu m of payload space and a payload up to 700 kg, plus a 750 kg towing capacity. The 136 hp motor was supplied by a 43 kWh motor, giving a promised range of up to 186 miles. The absence of a front-mounted engine meant the space under the bonnet could be turned into a space for tools, charging cable, etc. – a so-called ‘frunk’. Two trim levels were offered, Trend and Limited. Prices started on launch at £28,806 ex VAT.
Ford put a great deal of effort into making the ecosystem around their electric commercial vehicles as straightforward as possible, in order to encourage customers (especially sole traders and small businesses) to make the switch from ICE. Ford Pro was a new division set up to do this. At its heart was a suite of services aimed at helping customers get the most from running Ford products and an important element would be working with them on a transition to an all-electric fleet.
Ford Pro provided extensive support for all kinds of charging. A vehicle could be charged at one of Ford’s 33,000 Blue Oval public charging network in Britain. A Smart Charger package was available for the home-based single vehicle charging likely to be used by a sole trader. Fleets could receive consultation and site surveys to help set up a fleet charging infrastructure on their premises.
The Ford Pro Telematics platform was a means to monitor things like the location, charging status and driving pattern of any vehicle. Larger fleets would have a desktop-based set-up to do this: smaller customers would use a smartphone app. The platform could manage the charging process, automatically recording the right energy tariff and the amount of current used.
In 2022, the City of London, Ford Pro and DHL sponsored a trial using E-Transits moving fresh seafood from Billingsgate Market to commercial customers in central London. The aims were to reduce emissions by going electric and cut vehicle mileage by having forty traders share space in vans rather than employing their own vehicles. Ford Pro provided the vehicles, software and servicing support, and DHL lent its expertise in optimising supply chains. Over 18 weeks it was estimated that carbon emissions fell by 37% compared with use of ICE, helped by a reduction of 15,000 miles of driving through more efficient van use.
As part of the marketing campaign for the E-Transit, Ford Pro decided to provide an E-Transit for use by traders along Brixton’s Electric Avenue. They would be able to book use of the van. Ford hoped the experience would convince traders to switch over to electric vans entirely by 2030 (and that they will choose Fords of course).
In Spring 2024, Ford introduced the electric version of its most popular ICE van, the Transit Custom, which led the UK 1 tonne van market. The E-Transit Custom had been available elsewhere since 2022.
The range was intended to appeal to as broad a spectrum of potential buyers as possible. Beyond the basic cargo van, there was a double-cab version, a five-seater and even a sporty variant.
The basic cab format of the E-Transit Custom was carried over from the ICE range, but with different controls and instruments, and subtle exterior signals like a blue grille. There were two screens – an 8 inch digital instrument panel in front of the driver, and a 13 inch infotainment screen on the dash. One eye-catching feature was a steering wheel that could be flipped horizontal, to provide a base for a laptop, or a tray.
The motor was a 134 bhp unit, fitted at the rear and supplied from a 64 kWh battery. A 216 bhp motor could be specified if desired. A top speed of around 73 mph was possible and the range was around 209 miles. The Transit Custom had been designed to accommodate an ICE or electric driveline from the outset, so there was no need to modify the base vehicle in any way, unlike on the E-Transit.
The standard body had a cargo volume of 5.8 cu m on the L1H1 version and 6.8 cu m on the L2, with an unladen weight for the L1 model of 2,163 kg. The basic price for the base model was £43,380 ex VAT at launch – around 35% more than that for the ICE version.
Four levels of specification were offered, starting with the Trend, with equipment including climate control, reversing camera and cruise control. The Limited added better seats, heated steering wheel, and anti-theft systems. The Sport had a 170 kW motor, stripes, a spoiler and alloy wheels.
Top of the range was the extraordinary MS-RT, the electric van equivalent of a hot hatch. The base van was brought to Ford Dagenham from Turkiye and finished by MS-RT, a division of the M-Sport company which was Ford’s partner in competitive rallying.
Ford had always been happy to produce jazzed up versions of its models to appeal to buyers for who image and performance are all important. Think of the Cortina-Lotus from the early 1960s.
The high-performance ICE and hybrid versions of the Transit Custom were mainly about suspension tweaks and a body kit. The electric model had a unique powertrain exploiting the gutsy torque behaviour of an electric motor. The 282 bhp motor enabled the van to not only take off quickly, but sustain awesome acceleration well beyond 100 kph. Top speed was around 145 kph. Boring old cargo space was 6.8 cu m with a maximum payload of 1,124 kg.
It had compulsory add-ons like a big bumper, spoilers and a snazzy grille, as well as anthracite alloy wheels. Inside there were moulded seats, a sports-style steering wheel and plenty of MT-RS logos.
As well as the full-throttle sport mode, the van could be driven in other modes to conserve battery charge and make it easier to handle in bad weather. Its battery was the same 64 kWh set used across the E-Transit Custom models, so its range of 147 miles was significant less than the 205 miles claimed on those.
At £62,000 ex VAT, its price was 50% greater than the entry level E-Transit Custom Trend. The Sport version offered most of the MS-RT’s equipment and slightly less performance but came in £12,000 cheaper.
In a move to take on the wave of highly price-competitive Chinese vans coming into Europe, Ford unveiled the Transit City in 2026. This was a 1 tonne van with a deliberately pared down specification, aimed at intensive urban stop-start operations rather than longer runs where more comfort would be expected.
It was based on an electric vehicle platform developed by Jiangling Motors Corporation (JMC), a Ford joint-venture partner. The Transit City was assembled at JMC’s factory in Nanchang. JMC already produced an electric van based on a previous generation Transit foundation.
Three versions were offered: a short-wheelbase, low roof L1H1 van, a longer, taller L2H2 van, and a chassis cab suitable for bodies like flatbeds and tippers. The plan was to have a list of approved firms to construct bodies on the chassis cab, starting with VFS, based in Southampton.
Its base price of £27,000 ex VAT was far below the price of the equivalent payload E-Transit Custom. To achieve that the Transit City was sold as a single specification with no options. It still had a digital instrument panel, 12.3 inch infotainment display, manually controlled air-conditioning, smartphone connectivity and a reversing camera.
Money was saved by fitting a 56 kWh LFP battery (rather than the 71 kWh on the E-Transit Custom), but the 148 bhp front-mounted motor would give ample performance, with a range up to 158 miles. The smaller battery actually increased the payload allowance, up to 1,275 kg on the short wheelbase variant.
Ford had a long association with competitive motorsport, partly to support its brand, and also to some extent to inform its development of road vehicles. In the 2020s this extended to electrics. The Ford Electric Super Truck was a hot pickup, boasting three motors and performance to match.
At the 2026 Commercial Vehicle Show, Ford displayed a Ford Explorer SUV in van format. The Explorer was an all-electric model, so no need to stick an ‘E’ on the front of its name. As with other car-derived vans of this kind, the rear seats were removed, and the rear side windows blanked out, to provide a small and secure load area. The idea was to provide a reasonably rugged and economical vehicle to do jobs like taking site managers to construction sites, maybe carrying inspection equipment or small consignments of urgently-needed parts.
The Explorer was available in rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with a 210 kW or 250 kW motor system respectively. A 58 kWh battery offered up to 374 miles of range. The van was supplied as a conversion of a passenger car done by Ford’s Dagenham Conversion Centre.
At the end of 2025 Ford announced the F-Line E, a fully electric model in the F Max range of heavy trucks, introduced in 2018. Like the rest of range, it was designed and built by Ford’s operation in Otosan, Turkiye. Initially to be marketed in Germany, it was slated to be available in other western European markets beyond 2026. The F Max ICE range was not sold in the UK, so the introduction of the F-Line E was uncertain.
The F-Line E was offered as a 19 t GVW 4×2 variant, and a 6X2 26 t GVW model. The 4×2 had a 235 kW continuously rated motor supplied from a 294 kWh battery, promising a range of up to 250 km. The corresponding figures for the 6×2 were 310 kW, 392 kWh and 300 km. ZF supplied the electric drive system which included a three-speed automatic gearbox.
Fuso
Fuso is a Japanese truck builder now substantially owned by Daimler AG. Its Canter light truck was made available in a fully electric format in 2016, and for European customers the model was built in Tramagal, Portugal. Fuso claimed this to be the world’s first all-electric light truck although plainly this is not so – the Leyland-W&E Electric Terrier went into production in the 1980s for example.
The eCanter was produced as a chassis cab and rated at 7.5 t GVW, offering a body plus payload allowance of 4.63 t. It has a modular water-cooled lithium-ion 420 V battery which could contain up to six 14 kWh units, depending on the customer’s requirements, giving a range of up to 100 km. The units were dispersed in the wheelbase, either side of the chassis frame and inside it. The 185 kW, 380 Nm permanent synchronous motor transmitted power to the rear axle through an automatic gearbox. The cab was well-appointed, with air conditioning and an infotainment system, and there was even cruise control.
By 2024 the Fuso E-Canter was on its third generation. It had progressed to a drivetrain which was optimised for electric traction, rather than slotting an electric motor into where the ICE and gearbox would go. However, the cab looked dated and was overdue for a major redesign.
GM
Since its sale of Vauxhall to Groupe PSA (which subsequently became part of Stellantis) in 2017, General Motors had not manufactured any vehicles in the UK and had sold very few. However, it had been busy on electric vehicle development in the US and the principal effort around commercial vehicles was BrightDrop. This van range was based on GM’s Ultima electric powertrain architecture, and the prototype was unveiled in January 2021.
Considerable interest came from outfits like FedEx, Walmart and Marchant Fleet (a major American van hire business), with volumes in the tens of thousands being contemplated. Given some of the potential customers had big operations in Britain it was possible the Brightdrop might appear over here.
The Brightdrop was to be built at a GM factory in Canada, and was moving towards scale production, when in January 2026 it was announced that the entire programme had been cancelled.
GM launched the all-electric Hummer EV in 2021, almost twenty years after the controversial Hummer H2 hit the streets. It retained its predecessor’s rugged looks and boasted even more adrenalin-pumping performance. That included a 0-60 mph acceleration time of 3.3 seconds, thanks to its 1,000 hp motor and 1,200 lb ft of torque.
A UK importer was appointed, and the first example arrived in Britain in late 2022. It was offered solely as a pick-up, albeit with two rows of seats in the cab, and thus technically qualified as a commercial truck. However, with a price on the UK streets of over £300,000 it was unlikely to see too many sales to fleets or sole traders.
Goupil
Goupil electric vehicles are built in south west France. The company’s emphasis is on smaller vehicles intended specifically for light delivery work and practical jobs like municipal applications. They are distributed in the UK by Bradshaw Electric Vehicles and FTS Forktruck Solutions.
The company was formed in 1996 and the present range began with the Goupil G4. This was a forward control chassis cab, with room for a passenger, and a payload up to one tonne. A variety of bodies was available such as a dropside, a van and a refuse collector. Brighton Corporation bought a fleet of three in 2020 with caged tipper bodies and payloads of 763 kg.
The G5 was similar to the G4 but with a bigger cab and a slightly smaller payload.
The Goupil G2 followed in 2019. This was a compact driver-only normal control chassis cab vehicle with a payload capacity up to 600 kg.
The Goupil G6 arrived in 2020 to complete the range. It was a front-wheel-drive normal-control machine with room in the cab for three people. This layout permitted a low chassis height. The payload could be up to 1,150 kg.
By 2024, only the G2 and G4 ranges were being actively marketed by Bradshaw. However, at the 2026 Commercial Vehicle Show a G4+ was displayed – perhaps to be marketed in Britain at a future date.
Ineos
Ineos is a British chemicals firm founded by Sir Jim Radcliffe. In 2017 Ineos Automotive was set up to develop an off-road utility vehicle that would be a closer successor to the Land Rover Defender retired in 2016 than JLR’s own new manifestation of the Defender. Production began in Hambach, France, in 2022.
In 2023 plans were announced to introduce an electric off-roader version with a range of up to 400 km called the Fusilier. Design leadership would be in the UK, whilst Magna Steyr would lead the development and production might be in Graz, Austria, where electric SUVs were built for brands like Jaguar and BMW.
However, early in 2024 the project was shelved, apparently due to a lack of market interest and uncertainty around potential tariffs and EV taxation.
https://ineosgrenadier.com/en/gb/
Isuzu
Isuzu is a Japanese automaker which holds a prominent place in the global market for pick-ups. The D-Max was unveiled at the Bangkok Motor Show in 2024. The electric D-Max BEV was introduced to the UK in 2026 with a 1 t payload and 3.5 t towing capacity.
The vehicle had permanent four-wheel drive through e-axles. A 66.9kWh battery was fitted, powering the two axle motors to deliver a combined 174 bhp. The range was claimed to be 163 miles. The DC charging peaked at 50 kW which meant a 70% charge boost took an hour, compared with half that time on a typical contemporary electric van.
Standstill to 60 mph acceleration was 10 sec and the top speed was limited to 81 mph, but the big emphasis was on the pick-up’s ruggedness and off-road capability. That involved a 210 mm ground clearance, 600 mm wading ability, and steep approach and departure angles.
The D-Max EV was available in two trim levels. The eDL40 could be bought in extended cab and double cab form and cost £59,995 ex VAT. On both models infotainment displays were smaller than on typical vans.
The eV-Cross came as a five-seat double cab, with extra equipment like self-levelling headlights. It cost an extra £2,500 ex VAT.
Iveco
By the 2010s the Iveco Daily Electric had been on the UK market for several years and was one of the largest light electric commercial vehicles available. The latest incarnation made its debut in 2016, available as a van, chassis cab, chassis cowl and minibus in 3.5 t and 5 t GVW formats.
The modular battery could be specified as one, two or three modules, giving a range between 45 and 135 miles. A 60 kW or 80 kW, 200 Nm motor could be specified offering a top speed from 90 to 130 km/h. The smallest, least powerful configuration was priced in 2018 at around £60,000, going up to £100,000 for the largest model. Overall, the Daily Electric was positioned as expensive but having the ability to carry its full payload over longer distances than competitors.
The more recent story of smaller Iveco electrics is covered under Sevel and Stellantis.
At the other end of the scale, Iveco introduced the S-eWay in 2025 as a heavyweight truck available in tractor unit and rigid form. The rigid had the same cab as the ICE models, whereas the tractor unit had a more snazzy look. A 603 kWh battery fed a two-motor e-axle producing 480 kW continuous, and promised a range up to 600 km. In articulated form, the vehicle could go up to 44 t GCW.
Across the range the modular battery could be specified in four, five or seven packs, each pack being 90 kWh. The position of packs could be adjusted to make room for features like crane stabiliser legs. Rigids could be had in 4×2 or 6×2 form with wheelbases ranging from 3,900 to 6,700 mm, with a payload up to 18.7 t..
JLC EV
JLC EV was a distributor of a range of Chinese-made small electric commercial vehicles and e-bikes, based near Brighton. It changed its branding to MicroVolt from around 2025 to sell the smallest vehicles in its range. However the slightly larger machines remained under the JLC banner.
The tiny Jonway City 2 model was made in China and exhibited at the 2024 Commercial Vehicle show. It measured 2.9 m long by 1.65 m wide, making it ideal for the narrowest lanes.
The Nextem Orca was offered as a normal control rear wheel drive chassis-cab with a choice of bodywork. A 30 kWh lithium battery supplied a 15 kW or 30 kW motor, and promised a range up to 125 miles. The Nextem Humpback was similar, but with a forward control cab.
The OHM 35 joined the line-up in 2026. It was another normal control chassis cab, but offering a much higher 2 t payload.
KGM
KGM, from South Korea, launched its Musso EV in the UK in 2026, billing it as the market’s cheaper electric pick-up. It had permanent four-wheel drive, and emphasised an SUV level of comfort.
Separate motors powered the front and rear wheels, delivering a combined 204 bhp. The payload was up to 690 kg, and the towing capacity was 2,300 kg. The 80.6 kWh battery enabled a maximum range of 240 miles, which at launch was class-leading. The Musso EV also had self-levelling suspension.
The cab provided twin 12.3 inch instrument and infotainment displays, an electrical socket for power tools and even heated and cooled seats.
With a price of £42,495 (including VAT and the £2,500 Plug-in Van Grant) the Musso EV was significant cheaper than its obvious rivals from Isuzu and Toyota.
Kia
Kia announced the PV5 range for the British market at the 2024 Commercial Vehicle show. It was based on Kia’s E-GMP platform, which is the basis for a number of commercial and passenger models. The PV5 products were assembled at Kia’s Hwaseong factory, near Seoul in South Korea.
The PV5 could be purchased as a van, a chassis-cab, as a people carrier (for taxi and courtesy roles), and even a camper.
The basic L1H1 van was the first vehicle to be offered in Britain. The basic model had a 120 bhp front-mounted motor and front-wheel drive, supplied from a 51.5 kWh battery. In this format the promised range was up to 183 miles. A more powerful 160 bhp motor and a larger 71.2 kWh battery could be opted for, taking to range to around 256 miles. With a cargo volume of 4 cu m it could carry up to 800 kg.
The L2H1 model was 200 mm longer with the bigger battery as standard, and 4.4 cu m of space, although that extra metal brought the payload down to 790 kg. The L2H2 model was 311 mm taller, and again only offered with the bigger battery. Its 5.2 cu m of space could take a payload up to 630 kg, over a range of up to 230 miles.
Fast 150 kW charging meant the battery could be boosted from 10% to 80% in half an hour.
The PV5 in its various forms could be ordered in either Essential or Plus levels of trim and equipment. In the cab there were two screen displays for instrumentation and infotainment. The i-Pedal enabled largely one pedal driving; releasing the throttle triggered regenerative braking. Other kit included front and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, Apple CarPlay and Android compatibility, and automatic air conditioning.
The passenger version had five seats, a seven-seat version to be offered from 2027. The Passenger Plus option had the larger battery. Kia expected the passenger models to be the most popular variant, and hoped to sell 1,250 in 2026.
Kia had an approved list of suppliers for bodies and things like internal racking, refrigeration units and wheelchair hoists, including Coolkit, GM Coachworks, Modul-System, TGS Automotive, and Wurth.
In 2026 the PV5 Crew was unveiled, based on the L2H1 with the 51.5 kWh battery. This allowed the interior to be switched from a two-seater cab and separate cargo space to having a flip down rear-facing three seater bench behind the driver. There was also provision to secure any cargo items in this area. This would enable a small team on say a construction site to travel to and from site, while during the shift the van could be used in full cargo mode
In 2026 PV5 prices started at £27,645 ex VAT.
https://www.kia.com/uk/pbv/about-pbv/
LDV
‘LDV’ originally stood for Leyland DAF Vans, which had been through various incarnations as the van business of British Leyland and its forerunner, BMC. After the collapse of Leyland DAF, and the ending of production in the UK, LDV was eventually taken over by SAIC of China in 2010, and production resumed in Shanghai in 2011. The core vehicle in the range was the Maxus van, jointly developed by LDV and Daewoo of South Korea in the late 1990s. Maxus is now the name of the SAIC van business, but LDV was still used in the UK as the brand name until it was dropped in 2020. Latterly, LDV offered two electric models in the UK, the EV80 and the EV30.
The EV80 was based on the rather elderly Maxus, and offered in large panel van, crew bus, minibus and chassis cab variants, all with a maximum GVW of 3.5 t. Payload was just over one tonne. The EV80 featured a 56 kWh battery, a 100 kW 320 Nm motor, and could achieve a range of about 120 miles on a full charge.
In 2019, LDV unveiled the medium-sized EV30, with a much more modern appearance, and also rated up to 3.5 t GVW. It was conceived as an entirely electric model, not a conversion of a diesel machine. Engineers at SAIC claimed this saved perhaps 20% in the weight of the vehicle structure, which helped it achieve a full one tonne payload. The EV30 featured a 90 kW, 255 Nm motor fed by a battery from CATL – China’s biggest automotive traction battery maker. In 2020 the EV30 was relaunched as the Maxus eDelivery 3.
See Maxus for the continuation of the story.
Interestingly, the LDV brand is retained for products sold in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
Ligier
Ligier is based in central France. Famous for its Formula 1 team which competed for twenty-one seasons from 1976, the firm is now – among other things – building small electric commercial vehicles. The Pulse 3 is a three-wheel electric delivery scooter; the Pulse 4 is a four-wheel utility vehicle. Its distributor in Britain is Compact Electric Vehicles.
The Pulse 3 was a tiny load carrier, capable of carrying 45kg on its rear deck, and 20 kg in an optional front basket. It was powered by a Bosch lithium-ion battery.
A fleet of 13 Pulse 4s was acquired by Royal Mail in 2021 to run operations in Govan. This model was forward control, with a simple two-seater cab accessed by rear-hinged doors. The front wheels sat outside the line of the bonnet, giving the Pulse 4 a very distinctive appearance. They retained their French driving position, so that the driver was next to the kerb – making egress safer when on delivery rounds.
The body was mounted on the rear deck, with options including a cargo box with rear shutter and a drop-side. It is available in two lengths (2.6 m or 3.35 m), and could carry two sizes of battery (7.2 kW or 9.6 kW). It was 1.76 m wide and had a payload capacity of up to 600 kg and 2 cu m of load space. A top speed of 45 km/h and a range of up to 150 km were claimed.
https://www.compactelectricvehicles.com/
LTI Vehicles
LTI Vehicles was the company that built the standard London taxi, at its factory in Coventry. It secured over £600,000 from the UK Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Transport Energy’ new vehicle technology fund. This resulted in the 2004 E-Mercury express delivery van, with a two tonne payload capacity, a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 50 mph. The power train came from Azure Dynamics in Canada. The prototype van had a streamlined cab with its door behind the driver, a cross-walk area, a load deck and then a goods cabinet over the rear axle. A small fleet of the vehicles was to be run in trials with Sheffield City Council.
This work produced much learning that went into the Modec venture (qv).
Lunaz
Lunaz was based at Silverstone, in a part of England most closely associated with Formula One teams. Founded in 2018 by David Lorenz, its business focused at first on restoring prestigious classic cars and converting them to electric drive. So it was a notable event when the company announced in May 2002 that its Lunaz Applied Technology (LAT) unit was going to apply the same thinking to refuse collection vehicles.
At the heart of its philosophy was upcycling – taking existing vehicles with all their embedded carbon, and extending their useful lives by replacing the worn out and polluting ICE driveline with electric drive. That applied just as much to commercial vehicles as it did to classic cars.
The base vehicle for the first Lunaz RCVs was the Mercedes-Benz Econic 6 x 2, although the company could fit its proprietary battery and drive system on to practically any platform. The purchase price of an upcycled electric vehicle (UEV) was claimed to be lower than that of an entirely new electric RCV and the carbon release associated with building many new parts and structures was avoided.
The electric drive technology followed the same concept as that for the cars, but scaled up. Few details were disclosed except that the battery was modular, and so could be sized from 275 kWh to 400 kWh to meet individual customers’ route demands. Thermal management technology enabled range to be extended up to 25%.
The vehicles got upgraded crew accommodation, even using the same seat padding as the firm’s upcycled Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. The mechanical instrument dials were replaced with a high-definition driving information screen, and cameras were fitted round the vehicle to cover blind spots.
LAT’s claim was that upcycling and electrifying an existing vehicle would produce barely 20% of the embedded carbon associated with creating a brand new machine. And it could be 25% cheaper to buy than a brand new electric.
Deals were done to supply RCVs to a number of organisations, including Biffa waste management and Buckingham County Council.
Lunaz RCVs were expected to go on trial with several municipal and government operators during 2022. The ambition was to produce as many as 1,100 per year. That July the company Lunaz announced it was expanding its facilities at Silverstone Technology Park, adding 140,000 sq ft of space, and potentially creating 300 additional jobs.
However, things did not proceed as hoped. The pace of legislation to compel a move to zero-emission commercial vehicles away from ICE was running more slower than Lunaz expected, which was hampering sales efforts and the ability to raise development funding. The cash situation deteriorated to the point that in March 2024 the whole business entered administration. A restructuring focused the business on car conversions, shelving work on commercial vehicles indefinitely.
Magtec
Magtec (Magnetic Systems Technology) was established in 1992 in Sheffield. The firm converted vehicles to run on battery electric power, using its own components. It offered a full drive train package, batteries, controllers, motors and other equipment, for a variety of automotive applications, ranging from 1.5 t vans up to 26 t lorries – as well as cars and buses. It also made electric drive systems ‘rafts’ which could be supplied to vehicle manufacturers for fitment on their own production lines to chassis rated at anything from 3.5 t to 18 t. One of these was Volta. In response to growing demand from Britain and overseas, Magtec moved to a new 65,000 sq ft factory in Rotherham in 2021.
A major area of focus was refuse collection vehicles, where operators were under pressure to comply with ultra-low emissions regulations being imposed by local councils. In 2019 a Mercedes-Benz Econic 26 tonne unit, at the end of its seven-year diesel-powered working life, was converted for the Royal Borough of Greenwich for trials alongside conventional units. The aim was to extend the vehicle’s useful life by a further seven years, and achieve substantial life cycle cost savings. The battery was specified to enable two seven-hour shifts every working day and the hydraulic compaction system was replaced with an electric one.
In its home city, Magtec undertook the conversion to electric drive of four end-of-life Dennis Eagle vehicles, also in 2019. The vehicles were operated by Veolia on behalf of Sheffield City Council. This project resurrected the concept of a century before by incinerating waste collected by bin lorries at Sheffield’s Bernard Road energy recovery facility, where some of the electricity generated there could recharge the eRCVs.
Attention then turned towards logistics and last mile deliveries. In 2017 Magtec built four 7.5 refrigerated trucks in cooperation with Paneltex of Hull as part of Innovate UK’s Temperature-controlled Range-extenders & Integrated Urban Mapping of Pollution (TRIUMPH) project. These were operated by Kuehne + Nagel to transport ambient, chilled, and frozen produce for Costa Coffee and Premier Inn (both part of Whitbread at the time). The aim was to assess the suitability of electric trucks for this kind of work.
Further work with Paneltex produced the MEV75 in 2018. This was a 7.5 t delivery truck with a 3.4 t payload, based on an Isuzu N75 chassis cab. The range was claimed to be between 80 and 140 miles depending on battery choice. The truck was put into series production, offering a range of bodies such as parcel vans, drop-sides, tippers and refrigerated boxes.
MAN
The MAN TGE was a range of larger vans introduced in 2020. It was actually a badge-engineered version of parent company Volkswagen’s Crafter, and both models were built at a VW factory in Poland. The MAN eTGE was the all-electric variant, and was available in the UK, where no electric version of the Crafter was on sale.
The electric layout was fairly conventional, with a front-mounted 100 kW, 290 Nm permanent magnet synchronous motor and front-wheel-drive. The lithium-ion battery packs were set in the wheelbase. Available in 3.5 and 4.25 t GVW versions, its payload could be, respectively, 1 and 1.5 t, with up to 11 cubic metres of load space.
DPD announced in February 2020 that it was buying 100 MAN eTGEs for operations in Britain.
In 2023 MAN announced a range of larger trucks with electric drive. The largest of these were the eTGX and eTGS series, which came to Britain in 2025. They could be had in 4×2 tractor form or as 4×2 or 6×2 rigids. MAN was rather coy about the motor details of these trucks, but made much of the fact that the battery was an in-house unit, built as 80 kWh modules. Depending on the exact model, from four to seven of these modules could be selected, giving a potential range of up to 830 km. The motors were connected to an MAN four-speed Tip Matic automatic transmission. The eTGS 20.449 had air suspension all round, and a GVW of 19.7 t. The eTGS 28.449 had leaf springs and the front and air at the rear, and a GVW of 28 t.
https://www.man.eu/uk/en/homepage.html
Maxus
From 2020 the Maxus name superseded the LDV brand on the vans marketed in the UK by the light commercial vehicle subsidiary of the Chinese manufacturer SAIC. Thus the Maxus eDeliver 3 was a rebrand of the LDV EV30 city van unveiled in 2019. It filled a gap between the small and medium-sized offerings from other makers. The eDeliver 3 came with a choice of two wheelbase lengths and two body sizes, as well as in chassis-cab form. The battery came in two sizes, the larger of which enabled a range of about 150 miles, and it could power either a 35 kW or 50 kW motor. The payload could be up to 945 kg.
The brand was certainly making a growing impression on the British market and gaining support from major fleets. Early in 2023, CitySprint — which claimed to be the UK’s largest same day distribution company — purchased forty Maxus eDeliver 3 vans for urban delivery work.
In 2020 Maxus announced the eDeliver 9 to replace the aging LDV EV80. The base van bore a strong resemblance to the contemporary Ford Transit which hinted at the market it was aimed at. The range included models at 3.5 and 4.25 t GVW, with a maximum payload of 1.7 t if the bigger version was chosen along with the smallest battery. A chassis cab variant was available as the basis of a tipper conversion, box van or other applications.
The ‘high power, low energy’ electric motor provided a very substantial 150 kW, with 310 Nm of torque. The potential for very lively driving was blunted by a speed limiter that stopped the van exceeding 100 km/h. The choice of batteries extended across 51.5 kWh, 72 kWh and (on the larger variant) 88.55 kWh – with a maximum range of 84 miles depending on specification. The price was quoted as between £63,000 and £71,000.
Filling the gap between the eDeliver 3 and the eDeliver 9 was the eDeliver 7. It offered a payload of up to 1,135 kg and promised a range up to 226 miles. The range provided two possible lengths (roughly 5 m and 5.3 m) and two heights (roughly 2 m and 2.4 m). Depending on the customer’s choice the van was powered by a 77 kW or 88 kW motor.
In May 2022, Maxus was the first company to offer a mass-produced electric pick-up on the British market. This was the T90EV, which was a battery electric version of the T90 produced in China. The first UK deliveries were scheduled to be in early 2023. It had two-wheel drive and promised a range of 320 km with a payload of 740 kg. The 88 kWh battery supplied a 150 kW motor. The overall length was 5.37 m and the load bed was 1.48 m long by 1.51 m wide.
The eTerron 9 pick-up replaced the T90EV in 2025. Aside from a more up to date appearance, it introduced all-wheel-drive model. It had a much more powerful 435 bhp motor, along with a 102 kWh battery. The potential range was 267 miles.
In 2024 Maxus filled out its small cargo range with the eDeliver5. This had a markedly different look to the other products, with distinctive styling and – in presentation mode – a pastel two-time livery very like that of the VW ID-Buzz. It was fitted with two sliding doors and a pair of rear doors.
The van was 4.8 m long and available in two heights. The 1.96 m long version had 6.6 cu m of payload space; whereas the 2.18 m long version had 7.6 cu m of room. Maximum payload was 1,200 kg. It had front wheel drive with a 80 kW motor and a 64 kWh battery. Range was up to 208 miles. The cab facilities included a 12.3 in infotainment screen, adaptive cruise control and several parking aids.
At launch the base price was £34,000 ex VAT, considerably less than that for an equivalent vehicle from Ford for example.
Later in 2024 the eDeliver 75 was launched, marking Maxus’s entry into the 7.5 t GVW market. This cam in chassis-cab form, and was available in 3.8 m or 4.5 m long versions, with a payload plus body up to 4,590 kg. The 120 kW LFP battery supplied a 120 kW motor, and the range was up to 155 mi. 120 kW charging would allow the battery to fill from 20% to 80% charge in 30 minutes.
MellowVan
The three-wheeler MellowVan originated in South Africa. It was unveiled to the UK market in 2026 as a micro-van ideal for navigating very tight urban settings and slow, dense traffic. With just 2 cu m of payload volume, the range was a modest 70 mi. It could be recharged from a domestic wall socket.
Mercedes-Benz
The first modern Mercedes-Benz electric van was the experimental LE 306, built in 1972, although the company had constructed some battery-electrics around 1910. Mainstream production began in 1995 with the Sprinter 308 E. Lithium-ion batteries were adopted in 2010.
In April 2022 Mercedes-Benz announced that since 2010 it has produced 25,000 battery-electric vans. That was an impressive number, but should be set against the two million or more diesel vans that the firm produced over the same period. That year the company made it clear commercial vehicle production would be fully-electric by 2030, so long as market conditions were conducive. Investment to support that goal was massive. It established an entirely new electric vehicle factory in Jawor, Poland. A discrete VAN.EA commercial van architecture was developed to underpin future iterations of all models by 2025.
Over seven years it reached the point where it had electric versions of all its ICE small commercials and was extending into heavyweight trucks. Its market positioning was as a premium supplier, with high specification vehicles backed up with a range of attractive services for customers who looked beyond a low initial price.
The Mercedes Sprinter was one of the most popular ‘white vans’ in the UK. The 3.5 t GVW electric eSprinter was introduced to the UK in 2020. It offered a modest 75 mile range and 713 kg payload, and came in only one size. The 114 hp motor drove the front wheels and the 55 kW battery enabled a range of around 88 miles.
A new version was brought out in 2024, following an investment of 350 million euros. It was available in L2 and L3 lengths, and as a panel van or chassis-cab. There was more choice in the running units, with the option of an 81 kWh or an 113 kWh battery (L3 length only). A 134 bhp or 201 bhp motor could be selected, each with 295 ft lb of torque, and the potential range was up to 271 miles – far more than its predecessor. Payload was around 1,000 kg, depending on size and specification, with a towing capacity of 1.5 t.
Two levels of trim were available – Pro and Select. The 10.25 in infotainment screen was a little smaller than the market norm. The vehicles would also supported by telediagnostics and maintenance management services.
Prices started at £59,830 ex VAT for the 81 kWh base L2 model with the smaller battery, with the larger battery version starting at £73,260 ex VAT.
Also in 2020, the medium-sized 3.2 tonne GVW Mercedes eVito was launched in Britain as the electric option in the Vito range. Its smaller body compared with the eSprinter enabled a bigger payload of around 900 kg and it came in two lengths, but with a limited range of about 92 miles. The Tourer EQV 300 minibus based on the eVito had a bigger battery to enable a range up to 261 miles.
A new version of the front-wheel drive eVito came to Britain in 2024. A 114 bhp motor was paired with a 60 kWh battery, offering a much-improved range of up to 160 miles. The van could provide 6 cu m of payload space in L2 form or 10% more in the L3. In both cases payload was up to around 790 kg – less than some rivals by a margin of as much as 200 kg.
The entry level version cost £48,530 ex VAT at launch. Europcar took a fleet to hire out in places like London with its ULEZ, and other cities with clean air zones.
The eCitan came to the UK in 2023. It shared its technical foundation with the Renault Kangoo Van E-TECH Electric and Nissan Townstar. Its cousin was the EQT people carrier, initially offered in a five-seat layout, and later with seven seats. With a kWh battery it could travel up to 176 miles with its 90 kW motor. It was offered in L1 or L2 lengths, with a load volume of up to 3.62 cu m with a payload of 616 kg.
In September 2022, Mercedes-Benz and Rivian revealed they had reached a tentative agreement to develop bespoke large electric vans together. This would lead to the marketing of Mercedes-Benz and Rivian branded vehicles in Europe, built in a factory somewhere in the central or eastern part the continent. One design would be based on the Mercedes-Benz VAN.EA architecture, and the other on the Rivian RLV platform. Over time more integrated development would be envisaged. That link-up did not last long. Faced with production difficulties and pressure on cash flow, Rivian stepped back in December to focus on sorting out activities in North America.
Mercedes-Benz was also pursuing pre-eminence in the heavy truck market.
The long haul eActros 600 was introduced in Germany in 2023, in rigid and tractor versions. It featured a 600 kWh battery, giving a range of up to 500 miles. The tractor could tow a trailer with a payload up to 22 t within a 44 t GCW. Propulsion was through a Mercedes-Benz 800V axle system, with two electric motors and a four speed transmission. The motors had a continuous rating of 400 kW, with a peak of 600 kW to enable good acceleration. A sophisticated Predictive Powertrain Control system optimised the driving style to suit road conditions and minimise battery use.
The vehicles came backed with consulting, charging infrastructure services and other facilities to help customers move to and manage heavy electric fleets.
Fifty prototypes were built – a good share of them being put to work in customer fleets for real-life evaluation. In July 2024, an example took part in the EV Rally round England and Wales. The five day, 1,400 mile odyssey was made up of 258 miles from Oldbury to Carisle, 285 on to Sheffield, 366 down to Cambridge, 315 across to Exeter, and 265 up to Chester. In 2025, Amazon announced an order of 200 eActros 600 tractors, 140 of which were run in the UK. 360 kW charging points would be set up at key UK depots.
https://www.mercedes-benz.co.uk/vans.html https://www.mercedes-benz-trucks.com/gb/en/home.html
MEV
MEV stands for My Electric Vehicle. The company was started in China around 2014 and the products are made there and imported fully-built.
The four-wheel model, the MEV Cargo, had a maximum speed of 80 km/h and claimed range of 80 km (or 160 km with an optional larger battery). The 10 kWh lithium battery provided power to a 7.5 kW AC brushless motor. There was a simple box van body, and a roof-rack was another option. It could be ordered in one of a choice of nine colours – one obviously being white. In basic-spec fromat the MEV Cargo was offered at £15,295 on the road ex-VAT in April 2024.
https://www.myelectricvehicle.org/mev-commercial
MicroVolt
The MicroVolt was a distributor range of small electric vehicles, based near Brighton. and available in 2026. The business was previously branded as JLC EV. Their models were intended for urban deliveries, where access into tight spaces was essential.
The Derry Neomor D01 Micro Van was a four-wheeler, capable of handling a 290 kg payload and promising a range of up to 74 miles. Four body configurations were offered.
The Vectrix i-Cargo was an even smaller three-wheeler with an open cab and cargo box. It was designed to handle 15 to 40 drops a day.
Modec
Modec was based in Coventry and in 2004 began developing a striking urban delivery van that came on to the market in 2006. The project was actually initiated at LTI (possibly as a consequence of the E-Mercury work). The payload was 2 t with a GVW of 5.5 t, and in its original form came with a single sodium-nickel-chloride demountable battery pack. The Modec had a distinctive wrap-around cab, with room to stand up and the door being behind the seats. It was designed to be able to accommodate new types of battery as they became available. So by 2008 Modec was able to install lithium-ion batteries without major modifications. The vehicle was particularly designed to be almost entirely recyclable. The production system was also carefully thought out, and designed in such a way that it could easily be recreated in other locations for local assembly.
The philosophy of the firm was to work closely with customers in refining and extending the design, notably Tesco. On the Tesco trucks the cab door was actually part of the cargo body. Other customers included Center Parcs, Fedex, Hildon Water, JMC Logistics, Network Rail, Speedy Tool Hire, Transport for London and UPS. A number went to the City Cargo project in Amsterdam which was a short-lived scheme to restrict penetration by internal combustion goods vehicles into the city centre.
There was great optimism, with a belief that annual volumes could soon reach 2,000 vehicles. In August 2009 Modec won support from the US Government to begin manufacturing its product in the United States in a partnership with Navistar that might have led to a full takeover. Vehicles for the US would initially be sent complete but progress to being shipped as component kits. Navistar earmarked a site in Elkhart, Indiana to build electric vans for the American market. Alas, total Modec production over five years only reached 400 units, 150 of which were sold in the UK. One reason for this imbalance was that overseas markets had greater incentives to introduce electrics than the UK but were more inclined to purchase locally built products.
Morris Commercial
Whereas every other competitor was trying to make their electric commercial vehicles either as contemporary or as futuristic as possible, Morris Commercial created a new electric van styled to look almost exactly like the 1948 Morris J. The J-type van was a familiar part of the British landscape through the 1950s and 1960s, running in large numbers with the General Post Office, state-owned concerns like British Railways, and commercial businesses large and small. Morris Commercial, set up in Oxfordshire by Dr Qu Li, aimed to begin production of the JE in 2022, but by 2026 was still in pre-production. It hoped to tap into special niches within the electric van market where it was important to project a distinctive image – like events management, specialist courier work and brand promotion.
The vehicle’s major components were all developed and manufactured within the UK. A 60 kWh lithium-ion battery powered a rear-mounted motor, and the maker promised a range of 200 miles. As well as taking electricity from the grid for charging, energy left in the battery at the end of the day could be discharged back into the grid when the van was out of use but electricity demand was high.
The body copied the original J-type’s semi-forward control layout, with sliding doors, and a faintly streamlined shape. It was constructed from carbon fibre composite which kept the weight down, and sat on an underframe that could accommodate possible future variants like a pick-up, minibus or camper van. Interior appointments included leather seats and wood effect flooring and interior body sides.
The Morris JE would be an expensive option for buyers (likely to cost around £60,000), reflecting its high-cost materials, emphasis on style, and the modest anticipated volumes. Morris Commercial anticipated 1,000 sales in its first year of full production – whenever that would be.
https://morris-commercial.com/
Munro
While other firms were taking original Land Rovers and converting them to electric drive, Munro Vehicles of Scotland developed a rugged four-wheel drive machine from scratch. The Munro Mk 1 was launched in December 2022. It was publicly unveiled at the 2023 Low Carbon Agriculture show in February 2023.
The company was started in 2019 by Russell Peterson and Ross Anderson, who saw the potential for an electric rough terrain vehicle where the motor’s high low speed torque would give it an edge over ICE-powered utility trucks. Incidentally, the Munro name is taken from the label of any peak in Scotland that exceeds 3,000 feet in height.
The original Munro Mark 1 concept could be specified with a choice of two motors (220 kW or 280 kW) and two batteries (61 kWh or 82 kWh), giving up to 190 miles of range. The aim was that the vehicle would be able to work off-road for up to 16 hours without a recharge. The wheelbase was set at 130 in. Mark 1 prototypes were built for test and evaluation. It could even wade through 800 mm of water.
With up to 700 Nm of torque the top-spec Munro could reach 62 mph in 4.9 seconds and top out at 80 mph. Probably more important to its target market was a payload of 1 t and a towing capacity of 3.5 t.
The battery contained 35 lithium NMC modules fitted in three packs attached around the chassis. Because the Munro vehicle is deliberately designed for decades it will outlast the battery, arrangements were to be made to deal with reconditioning or recycling exhausted batteries. In any case, Munro would guarantee that the battery would retain at least 80% of its charge capacity for 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurred first.
This off-roader was able to accommodate five people and carry them and equipment to remote locations. Potential applications included agriculture, construction, defence, mining, remote infrastructure maintenance, and search and rescue. Interest in the vehicle came in from places such as Dubai, Switzerland, St Lucia and of course the UK.
In 2023 the production Series-M was announced in two formats. Truck was a pick-up and Utility was a fully-bodied machine. The specification remained close to the Mark 1, the main changes being to reduce the power of the less powerful version to 170 kW and fit an improved LFP battery. Many lessons from the Mark 1 trials were incorporated, such as better forward visual, easily detached body panels, better cab facilities and ergonomic improvements.
8 pilot Series-M vehicles were built in 2023, and there were plans to build 221 production machines in 2024 and 2025. The aim was to reach an output of 2,500 units a year by 2027.