Royal Mail is the latest company to take delivery of a prototype VN5 electric van from Coventry-based London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC —
www.levc.com) for real-world testing.
LEVC is trialling a fleet of converted TX-based prototypes, which feature a full interior van conversion, with 25 business partners, ahead of the official launch of the VN5 launch later this year.
The companies chosen to trial the vans range from tool and equipment hire to energy suppliers, to ensure the vehicle is exposed to a variety of different use cases.
LEVC CEO Joerg Hofmann said: “Royal Mail is one of the oldest postal services in the world and, like our London black cab, is part of British history and culture. It is great that these two iconic brands are joining forces for this trial.
“The VN5 prototypes will display the iconic Royal Mail red livery and be used on routes that will test the vehicles ability to the full. These trials are crucial to the final development of the van, ahead of its launch later this year.”
The VN5 cargo capacity easily accommodates two Euro-sized pallets with a gross payload of over 800kg. It has been built with a large side-loading door (enabling a pallet to be side-loaded) and a 60/40 split door at the rear to make loading and unloading easy for the driver.
The eCity technology meets the demanding duty cycles of various different sectors, and, for logistics businesses such as Royal Mail, VN5 has been designed to provide ‘distribution to door’ – not just last mile – capability, creating a link between out of town depots and city centres.
Paul Gatti, Royal Mail fleet director, said: “As a company, we are committed to making changes to our operations that reduce our environmental impact, whilst ensuring we continue to meet customer expectations.
“Alongside the introduction of electric vans in locations across our business, this trial is part of a programme of initiatives that allow us to experiment with ways to achieve this, while enabling us to continue to deliver letters and parcels safely, efficiently and responsibly.”