Logistics UK slams Government inaction Watts up for ETRUX partnership

Watt Electric Vehicle Company (WEVC) has announced a partnership with ETRUX, an electric commercial vehicle specialist, that is set to accelerate the adoption of next-gen electric light commercial vehicles – with the first prototype debuting at April’s Commercial Vehicle Show.

Following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two companies, the collaboration will see WEVC’s electric vehicle platform technology adapted by ETRUX into a range of offerings for the commercial vehicle market. To underline the intent of the relationship, ETRUX will be exhibiting an engineering prototype, based on WEVC’s Watt eCV1 3.5-tonne cab and chassis unit (codenamed eCV1 in development), on its stand at the CV Show, complete with an in-housedesigned body.

The CV Show will be the first chance to see the functional prototype, which will be continuing test and development activities directly after the event. Designed for production of up to 5000 vehicles per annum, WEVC’s innovative and highly flexible 3.5-tonne cab and chassis unit enables a wide range of electric commercial vehicle designs, facilitating mission-specific models which meet customers’ particular requirements.

Mini electric CVs for fast-growing cities

Helixx, a new UK-based global technology company, has announced a range of four affordable mini commercial electric vehicles to provide clean, sustainable mobility for service businesses in fast-growing, densely populated urban centres.

Engineered in the UK and designed to be built virtually anywhere in the world in licensed Helixx Mobility Hubs, vehicles will be offered on a subscription basis for commercial users from $0.25 per hour.

Economically and technologically developing cities across the world are experiencing dramatically increasing population density. The U.N. predicts that 6.6 billion people will be living in urban areas by 2050. Growing populations mean that a fundamental shift towards more efficient mobility systems is vital.

Small, safe, affordable, zero-emission vehicles that are built locally within a fully managed circular manufacturing Industry 5.0 ecosystem offer the potential to unlock opportunities for economic growth by solving mobility and air-quality challenges.

Helixx Mobility Hubs will help to keep carbon emissions to a minimum whilst empowering local enterprise to make, sell and support vehicles over their entire lifecycle, and beyond.

The Helixx range is designed by Jowyn Wong and Jakub Jodlowski whose portfolio includes hypercars for manufacturers such as Apollo and DeTomaso. State-of-the-art cabins offer a premium space for enhanced driver and passenger comfort for urban services. The range initially comprises four body styles, designed for optimum production simplicity through the innovative, flexible Helixx assembly process.

For example, the CARGO is a commercial goods vehicle designed to support the booming demand for last-mile delivery fleets, with 2100 litres of cargo space and the capability to carry the majority of ISO pallets in target markets. The TRUCK is a pick-up that’s ideal for construction businesses and urban developers.

The TUK and RIDE, with open and closed-door bodies respectively, are designed as the best solution for urban ride-hailing to replace older, heavily polluting, combustionpowered fleets.

All four vehicles offer a zero-emission driving range for a virtually uninterrupted 24-hour duty cycle with rapidly swappable, Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery packs with range on-demand for full flexibility.

Logistics UK warns that the Government is running out of time if it wishes to meet the targets it has set on reducing the CO2 output from Transport.

Michelle Gardner, deputy director of policy at Logistics UK, said: “Figures released by the Department for Transport (DfT) showed that as of October 2022, the total number of public electric vehicle chargepoints across the UK was 34,637. This falls woefully short of the 300,000 target the DfT has set for 2030, and it is vital that the pace of public charging installation increases to ensure targets are met in time for the phase-out dates of diesel and petrol vans and cars. It is also crucial that commercial vehicles – which typically require larger bays, longer reaching cables and a rapid-charging ability – are considered throughout installation to ensure that the logistics industry can continue to efficiently deliver to every sector of the UK economy.

“There is also a current lack of clarity regarding the best transition method for heavier vehicles, including low carbon fuels (LCFs), overhead electric cables on key routes and hydrogen. While trials are underway, these will take time and as a result, the lack of certainty is making it harder for businesses to plan future investment, especially as significant infrastructure will be needed to support alternative fuels and technologies. Logistics UK will continue to work with its members, and government, to seek solutions.”

“Truckfile continues to be much more than a tool to help us keep our Earned Recognition status, though. It’s now an indispensable aid in keeping our fleet operation running smoothly, and has wider benefits too”

Paul Gibbard, Transport Manager

at CRS

Building

Supplies

Compliance. Done digitally.

Driver Check, Fleet & Workshop Management www.truckfile.co.uk

FleetCheck checks EV efficiencies

A range of new tools giving fleets the means to measure the efficiency of electric vehicles (EVs) has been added by FleetCheck to its fleet management software.

They allow businesses to record charging information and measure it against the real world performance of electric cars and vans, generating reports ranging from individual vehicles to the entire fleet.

Peter Golding, managing director at FleetCheck, said: “The increase in the cost of charging seen over the last year or so, combined with a growing realisation that efficiency varies quite widely from one EV model to another, are behind these changes.

“Fleets want to know more about which charging options and which vehicles are costing them the most money so they can take action. For almost all operators, it’s a relatively new area, and they are looking for reliable information and clear reporting.

“The new tools we have introduced provide this, enabling data to be imported directly from external sources or entered manually, so that the reporting on each vehicle provides an accurate picture of fuel costs and use.”

Peter said that the remedial measures undertaken by fleets where EV fuel costs were felt to be excessive were essentially the same as for petrol or diesel vehicles.

“The variables that need to be investigated are almost identical – is the fuel being acquired at the best cost? Is there a fault with the vehicle? Is the driver too aggressive on the road?

“In our view, fleets are very much starting to think about EV charging in exactly the same way as fuelling internal-combustion engine vehicles, and the solutions they are applying – from specifying where fuel can be bought to encouraging better driving –are much the same.”