Commercial vehicle dealer group Steadplan has taken delivery of five Maxus eDeliver 7 electric vans for its parts delivery operation.
The dealer said the decision was driven mainly by running costs, with each vehicle expected to cover about 500 miles per week.
Steadplan calculates that a diesel van returning 34mpg, with fuel costing £1.76 per litre, would cost approximately £6,100 a year to fuel.
In contrast, it expects the eDeliver 7 to achieve about 2.3 miles/kWh.
Based on electricity costing 22p/kWh, that means an annual energy bill of around £2,500 per van, providing a saving of more than £3,600 a vehicle.
In the fleet of five, that equates to an annual saving of more than £18,000.
Hal Jackson, MD at Steadplan said, “We scrutinised the economics of electric vans for our parts operation and the calculations made for a compelling business case.
“The eDeliver 7 gives us the opportunity to reduce our day-to-day running costs while continuing to provide the service our customers expect.
“It tells us that a move to zero emissions is viable; it can make a positive impact on the bottom line.
“If we can reduce the cost of every mile we operate, we can reinvest that saving into the business and continue to deliver a competitive parts service without simply adding costs elsewhere.”
Gary Brown, Harris Maxus UK commercial operations director said, “These vans are going straight into a franchised parts delivery environment, where mileage, uptime and operating costs are all under the microscope.
“The eDeliver 7 demonstrates that electrification can deliver genuine financial benefits for businesses running the right duty cycle.”
