As part of its mission to help businesses make the switch to electric, Europcar Mobility Group UK is adding a significant volume of small electric panel vans to its nationwide fleet. Available from Europcar locations across the UK on long term flex rental of three months or more, the Vauxhall Combo Electric and award-winning Renault Kangoo eTech provide businesses with an ideal entry route to electric motoring.
As Head of Europcar Vans and Trucks, Keith Shorter explained, the new additions provide a virtually zero commitment entry to electric motoring and will be critical as more businesses try to work out how to make zero emissions a reality for commercial vehicle motoring.
“While the electric car parc is growing significantly and businesses have greater confidence in their use, when it comes to electric vans the confidence is less evident. Latest data shows that electric vans represent around 1.4% of all LCVs on UK roads. As the BVRLA has identified in its ‘Van Plan’, there are several hurdles organisations are finding hard to overcome, not least of which is the cost of entry. Winning the hearts and minds of drivers who will need to adapt to electric van usage is also critical.
“Our goal is to make electric commercial motoring more accessible for more businesses by providing a choice of compact electric vans that can serve multiple use-cases.”
The Vauxhall Combo Electric has class leading load dimensions, 4.4 m3 maximum load volume and 781kg payload, complemented by helpful features such as the Flex Cargo load-through flap for additional load length. With an electric range of 213 miles, the Combo Electric features both a Type 2 slow charger and CCS Rapid charger, allowing the battery to charge from 10% to 80% (approx. 70 miles of driving) in as little as 26 minutes. Rapid charging, long range and maximum comfort, ergonomics and space make the Vauxhall Combo Electric a practical member of the team on the road.
The multi award-winning Renault Kangoo E-Tech has a maximum load volume of up to 4.2m3 and maximum payload of up to 724kg. It is a compact van that fits in a multitude of clever storage areas to maximise usable space and practicality. The dual sliding side doors also deliver better cargo access and make equipment loading easy. Its driving range of up to 186 miles, and the Type 2 slow charge and CCS rapid charger minimise downtime for charging as it takes just 42 minutes to charge from 20% to 80% (approximately 105 miles of driving).
“These two small vans offer a wealth of practical, comfortable and tech features that make them perfect options for a wide range of business uses”, added Keith Shorter. “The rapid charging capability and long driving range mean these vans also offer businesses a great way to put electric vans to the test operationally, as a real-world test drive.
“We are confident that adding these vans to the Europcar fleet will help SMEs and businesses running larger fleets reduce their carbon emissions without impacting productivity.”