This post was originally published on Autocar
Kia PV5 is the first and likely best-selling in a new range of ‘Platform Beyond Vehicles’
Extra gadgets are intended to convince diesel van buyers to make the switch – but will it work?
Heated and cooled seats, heated windscreens, adaptive cruise control… Van drivers are about to become more comfortable than owners of premium cars, as van makers focus on tackling the so-far near impossible job of converting buyers to electric power.
Unless the legislation is relaxed, van makers selling in the UK have to increase the amount of EVs they sell to 16% of their total this year, up from 10% last year.
Going by January’s figure, at just 7% of the total, according to the SMMT, they’ve got a huge mountain to climb to persuade buyers out of their drivetrain of choice: diesel.
The government has helped by announcing on 25 February that it would extend its Plug-in Van Grant for another year, handing van buyers £2500 off the cost of smaller EVs and £5000 off larger EVs (up to 4.25 tonnes).
That closes the gap to diesel vans, but fleet managers, small businesses and sole traders are going to need more. This is where makers of newer, high-tech vans think they can gain an edge.
Newly revealed or imminent vans from Kia, Geely-owned Farizon, Renault and Mercedes-Benz are selling buyers on the benefits of vans that have been designed as EVs from the start, rather than based on a converted ICE platform.
Unlike the shaky start from ‘disruptors’ like Arrival and Rivian, the next wave of electric vans are being developed by global giants with plenty of financial muscle to see their plans through.
Farizon began its campaign to persuade British fleets of its SV – a rival to the Ford Transit Custom – with a blanket invite to managers to come and test the van at the Millbrook proving ground last week.
Take-up was bigger than the Chinese brand expected, revealed UK boss Tom Carney. “That fact that it is designed from ground-up as an electric van is intriguing to fleets,” he said.
Farizon is pitching the SV head on at the likes of the electric Transit Connect and Peugeot e-Expert with a £45,000 starting price. But its standard equipment levels are far higher, including a heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, heated windscreen, a 360deg camera and a touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. An automatic gearbox is a given, of course.
The pitch to the fleet manager is a van that acts as a mobile job-retention machine. Why would your gas fitters or delivery drivers jump ship when the craft they’re piloting is so comfortable?
Potentially a bigger sell is the claimed benefit from having a design doesn’t have to also squeeze in a diesel engine. Farizon claims a lower loading surface, wider side doors and expanded load bay gained from the packaging efficiencies.
Kia meanwhile last week unveiled its own electric competitor in the mid-size van space, the PV5 – the first and likely best-selling in a new line of models dubbed Platform Beyond Vehicles (PBVs). Again, technology is the big selling point, with the cabin gaining a touchscreen running Google’s Android Automotive operating system. Maximum range is almost identical to that of the SV, at 249 miles.
Meanwhile, the cargo bay features a novel rail system that allows for items such as cabinets and seats to be added or removed with ease.
Both the Kia and the Farizon will make their public debut at this year’s Commercial Vehicle Show at Birmingham’s NEC on 29 April.
Later this spring, Mercedes will unveil the first EV based on its VAN.EA platform. Again, this is no bare-bones, stripped-back rattlebox: all will come with the latest version of the Mercedes-Benz Operating System and charging will be speedy, thanks to an 800V electrical system.
Mercedes however is clear that products on this platform are going to targeting a wealthier market that include VIP shuttles and C-suite people movers, CEO Ola Källenius told investors in February. “By extending the top-end of its product portfolio, Mercedes-Benz Vans is defining its unique own segment,” he said.
This is the problem right now for van makers. Until prices of battery materials fall further, going electric means having to sell on something other than price. It’s no coincidence that the biggest electric van seller in the UK last year was the commercial version of the Volkswagen ID Buzz, a vehicle that sells more on its ability to get businesses noticed than its outright value.
Fleet buyers are a cautious bunch, and those with ESG targets to hit or which have done the total-cost-of-ownership sums often don’t feel like doubling the risk by going with a new player. Ordering 10 electric Transits instead of diesel Transits is making them giddy enough. Ford also has technology to call on, with extras like the Ford Pro telematics system. Newcomers like Farizon and even van virgin Kia will have to work hard to persuade buyers to make the double jump.
“There are any number of pitfalls. You’re only as strong as your weakest link,” said Andy Carroll, special adviser at Farizon’s UK importer, Jameel Motors.
Examples included nagging insurance companies not only to quote on the vehicle but also to remember to include it on drop-down menus when customers are looking to insure online.
Fleet managers aren’t required to go electric. Even the threat of no-go zones in cities for diesels hasn’t materialised, meaning they can continue buying cheap diesels without issue. Instead, the pressure is all on the existing van makers, who must increase their electric mix.
“The challenge is immense,” SMMT CEO Mike Hawes told Autocar. “To grow the market substantially, we need van-specific charging infrastructure, more affordable electricity, quicker grid connections for depots and the maintenance of the Plug-in Van Grant.”
The government is currently consulting on whether to pressure van makers to reduce their CO2 levels on existing ICE vehicles by 20% by 2030 – a new law that would existing alongside the zero-emission vehicle mandate, making life even harder.
Extra gadgets ultimately won’t persuade the majority of a market that’s driven by mostly by price and predictability, making this a far more long-term project than switching over the car market.