News

Up to £100 million to improve HGV roadside facilities

Up to £100 million is being invested by industry and government into safer rest areas and roadside facilities for HGV drivers.

Truck-stop and road service operators can bid for a share of the £32.5 million match-funding pot from the government. This is in addition to the £20 million match-funding launched earlier this year from National Highways to improve roadside facilities and security for lorry drivers.

The move is part of the government’s comprehensive 33 actions to address the shortage of HGV drivers and boost recruitment and retention.

The funding scheme draws on ‘The National Survey on Lorry Parking: Part One’ which provides important evidence as to what improvements are needed and where to boost the nation’s roadside infrastructure.

The industry is responsible for providing roadside parking and welfare facilities for hauliers, and the department is committed to help the sector achieve the government’s long-term objectives of improving driver welfare, boosting drivers’ security, and safeguarding road safety.

With hauliers required to take mandatory breaks and rest periods, building better roadside facilities will improve the quality of HGV drivers’ rest and recovery, ensuring everyone can feel safe on our roads.

Director of policy at Logistics UK, Kate Jennings , said: “Logistics UK’s members and their employees deserve access to hygiene and rest facilities enjoyed by workers in other parts of the economy, and it is good news that funding is becoming available to help improve the quality and safety of amenities already in place, a swift resolution will now be needed to ensure that the shortfall of lorry parking and necessary facilities can be constructed and opened to support our key workers in the course of their daily travels.”

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES

Many electric vans under utilised and overcharged

Petrol and diesel-powered light commercial vehicles (LCVs) are being worked more than twice as hard as electric vans within the same customer fleets, despite the average daily mileage being well within the range of an electric LCV.

Analysis of more than 85,000 vehicle records by MICHELIN Connected Fleet’s data science team found the average internal combustion engined (ICE) van travels 63 miles per day, compared with just 28 miles for an electric LCV.

The data also found that 59 per cent of electric vehicles (EVs) are being plugged in when the state of charge is greater than 50 per cent – which negatively impacts driver productivity, particularly given half of charging events occur during the daytime. This overcharging is also putting lithium-ion batteries through unnecessary charging cycles which could cause them to deteriorate faster, negatively impacting range and residuals.

Alberto De Monte, business segment director for EV and OEM at MICHELIN Connected Fleet, says: “Range anxiety is clearly impacting the fleet market’s confidence in electric vans, resulting in EVs being overcharged, and under-worked.

“In most applications the EVs you buy today have the range to do the job of a petrol or dieselpowered van in and around cities, but they’re being deployed on the lightest duty work – whilst ICE assets are being worked harder, which is less efficient and increases emissions.”

MICHELIN Connected Fleet’s analysis has also revealed that van drivers charged batteries to 90 per cent or more in 76 per cent of the charging events it studied – in comparison with car drivers who hit 90 per cent or more in only 58 per cent of instances.

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ELECTRIC VANS

LAST MILE Menzies Distribution trials Ford E-Transit M&H Carriers expands last-mile

Menzies Distribution will embark on a 12 month trial of a pre-production, allelectric Ford Transit van.

The test will engage both the Menzies Newstrade and Express operations, providing varied routes, mixed terrain, different speeds and, at times, vast mileage ranges, all of which have a bearing on battery life. Data obtained from the test will inform blueprints for all Menzies sites and their EV resources.

The Ford E-Transit being tested is the L3 H3 425 GVM model, featuring a 68kWh battery and 135 KW (184PS) motor. Its estimated range is up to 154-183 miles (WLTP). Ford Pro E-Telematics help to enhance driver performance with in-vehicle coaching, while new auto stopDistribution firm M&H Carriers has expanded the reach of its last-mile electric delivery fleet in the Scottish Highlands.

M&H Carriers has introduced a MAN eTGE e-van to the fleet operating from its Fort William satellite depot – joining nine others providing last-mile deliveries in Inverness and Elgin.

The firm was the first to introduce electric vehicles to its fleet in the Highlands in 2021, and has now spread these vehicles across three sites to provide further geographic EV coverage.

Managing director Fraser MacLean said: “The response to our electric vans has been fantastic, and we’re delighted to be expanding the area in which we can provide clean, green deliveries to our customers.

start technology reduces wear on brakes. Menzies presently has around 90 charging locations in its network, making it one of the UK’s largest commercial EV charging infrastructures.

Commenting on the E-Transit trial, Adam Purshall, fleet and procurement director, said: “We are excited to have this opportunity to push the E-Transit and our infrastructure as hard as we can to fully understand the limitations of both and work with the manufacturer to deliver the future of EV technology. The transport department is ready to embrace this trial with open arms, and the buy-in of drivers and staff is key to its success.”

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electrification in north of Scotland

“The health and wellbeing of the communities we live and work in is of paramount importance to us as a business and this is a very real commitment to improving the level of service we offer.

“Operationally, the electric vans have exceeded our expectations and – as range and technology improves – we are fully committed to EVs becoming a much bigger part of our operation.”

M&H Carriers’ last-mile electrification in the north of Scotland prompted Mr MacLean to be invited to speak at last year’s global environmental conference COP26 on sustainability and carbon footprint reduction for SMEs.

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LAST MILE Amazon opens three more micromobility delivery hubs

Amazon has announced the opening of three further micromobility delivery hubs in Manchester and London, which will expand it UK e-cargo bike fleet.

The e-cargo bikes and walkers are now expected to make more than two million deliveries a year. These deliveries will take traditional delivery vans off the nation’s roads, alleviate city centre traffic congestion and improve air quality.

The hubs join Amazon’s existing central London e-cargo bike fleet which was recently announced in July. Amazon has already made more than five million deliveries so far in 2022 using its e-cargo bikes and electric van fleet within London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.

Making e-cargo bike deliveries to Manchester’s customers for the first time, Amazon’s electric delivery fleet will operate across the City of Manchester. New delivery hubs based in London’s Wembley and Southwark will also more than triple the e-cargo bike fleet making deliveries to Amazon’s customers across the capital.

“With more than €1 billion committed to electrifying and decarbonising our European transportation network over the next five years, including more than £300 million in the UK alone, we remain laser focused on reaching net carbon zero by 2040,” said John Boumphrey, UK country manager at Amazon. “These new hubs will not only bring our customers more electricpowered deliveries, but also support local authorities looking for ways to reduce congestion and find alternative transportation methods. We look forward to expanding our e-cargo bike fleet further in the coming months.”

“E-cargo bikes can play a vital role in reducing emissions, and that’s why we’ve already helped hundreds of firms to use them for deliveries,” said decarbonisation and technology minister, Jesse Norman. “With ever more people buying goods online, it’s more important than ever that we move to greener alternatives, and today’s announcement is one step closer to achieving that goal.”

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DPD completes engineering tests with Volta Zero prototype

Delivery company DPD has completed a series of engineering tests with the full-electric Volta Zero, as part of wider Beta Trials for the new, 16-tonne vehicle.

The prototype vehicle was based at the firm’s Hinckley Superhub in Leicestershire. DPD’s drivers were accompanied by Volta Trucks engineers and qualified drivers and, while no parcels were onboard, the truck was tested on a range of pre-determined routes including motorways, A-roads and urban centres.

The Volta Zero is a full-electric 16-tonne vehicle, designed for urban logistics. With an operating pure-electric range of 95 – 125 miles, the truck is designed to significantly reduce the environmental impact of freight deliveries in city centres.

The truck has also been designed from the ground-up with vehicle, driver and pedestrian safety in mind. The combination of a central driving position with a much lower seat height and the glass house-style cab design gives the driver a wide 220-degrees of visibility, minimising dangerous blind spots.

The Beta Trials are part of Volta’s Test and Development programme and a key step towards the start of customer Production in early 2023.

DPD’s aim is to be the most sustainable parcel delivery company in the UK and the company is on track to have over 3,000 electric vehicles (EVs) on the road this year and 4,000 by 2023, when it will be delivering to 30 towns and cities using electric vehicles only.

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SERVICING

Fleet Assist launches electric van servicing network

Fleet Assist has set up a nationwide network of 900 Premier Van Centres capable of servicing and maintaining vans and chassis cabs of up to 4.25 tonnes GVW.

The network was set up to accommodate the anticipated growth of new electric vans plated at 4.25 tonnes GVW being onboarded by fleets.

Each garage with EV Premier Van Centre status has the premises, equipment, and technicians in place to service and maintain larger LCVs, in particular those with hybrid and electric power units.

It enables the Fleet Assist team to assign the right garage to undertake SMR on larger vans to ensure its leasing and rental customers’ LCVs are serviced and MOT’d in a timely fashion to reduce vehicle downtime.

“The additional weight of electric LCVs has meant the Government has extended the Gross Vehicle Weight from 3.5 tonnes to 4.25 tonnes that can be driven legally on a Category B car licence for five years,” explained Vincent St Claire, Fleet Assist’s MD.

“This is great news for operators as electric van payloads have increased, but for garages it means having vehicle lifts in their workshops capable of accommodating the heavier vehicles. Many dealers will simply not be equipped to handle these vans which is where our EV Premier Van Centre network comes into its own. It avoids misdirection of SMR work to garages unprepared for heavy weight LCVs,” he added.

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Ford Pro reveals electric E-Tourneo Custom multiactivity vehicle

Ford Pro has revealed the electric E-Tourneo Custom – a multi-activity vehicle with a range of up to 230 miles.

The E-Tourneo Custom targets both personal-use and business customers, with space for up to eight occupants, and is also available with as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version or with an EcoBlue diesel engine.

New Tourneo Custom vehicles are fully integrated with the Ford Pro platform of software and connected services including end-to-end charging solutions, management tools from Ford Pro Telematics, 4 the FordPass Pro app, 5 and the FORDLiive connected uptime system.

An onboard 11kW AC threephase charger is capable of fully

Swedish company Clean Motion has launched its electric solar delivery vehicle, EVIG, which has a range of 125 miles and additional range provided by its 2.5 square meter solar roof.

The vehicle is optimised for last-mile deliveries in urban environments, able to carry anything from pallets and packages to post and food.

The EVIG has a 2.5 cubic meter cargo space for maximised utilisation. It’s low weight enables optimised energy efficiency and long range.

Prices will start at £9,400 with deliveries coming in Q1 2023. recharging the battery in less than eight hours, and a 15-80 per cent recharge takes around 41 minutes using a 125kW DC fast charger. E-Tourneo Custom’s charge profile front-loads the energy to enable quick top-ups; in lab testing, using a 125kW DC fast charger added almost 23 miles of range in just five minutes.

E-Tourneo Custom offers a maximum towing capacity of 2,000kg along with a payload allowance, helping adventurous owners carry friends, family and sports equipment with ease, and business operators transport customers and their luggage efficiently.

The company also released its new fleet calculator where customers can compare and calculate costs and emissions of their fleet and compare it with conventional vehicles.

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LAST MILE

Solar delivery vehicle launched by Clean Motion

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Denise Beedell, senior policy manager, Logistics UK

Logistics UK’s Denise Beedell

Category B Derogation Consulation Review

In 2018 the UK secured a derogation from the European Commission allowing category B licence holders to drive alternatively fuelled vehicles (AFVs) up to a gross weight of 4.25 tonnes, as opposed to the standard 3.5 tonnes licence entitlement. This was to mitigate impacts on vehicle payloads due to the increased weight of batteries and other alternative fuels compared to petrol and diesel engines, while still allowing the vehicle to be driven on a standard driving licence.

Logistics UK welcomed the original derogation which supported operators who wanted to decarbonise their van fleets without imposing additional administrative or cost burdens from reduced payload or additional category C or C1 licence acquisition. And, following discussions with Logistics UK and industry, the government confirmed in August 2022 that they had no plans to remove the derogation and published a consultation reviewing areas of it.

However, van operators have reported barriers to uptake under the current rules of the derogation, including the five hours mandatory classroom training that has to be undertaken before the derogation could be utilised, as well as the prohibition of towing a trailer using an AFV between 3.5 tonnes and 4.25 tonnes.

The safety of all road users is a top priority for Logistics UK members, and we campaign for enhancement and improvements to the alreadystringent regulations that support safe road freight operations. However, given that recent driving licence entitlement changes mean that category B drivers can already operate conventionally fuelled vehicle and trailer combinations over the AFV derogation’s 4.5 tonne limit without additional training, and that there are no known stability or safety issues, it seems unnecessary to introduce a higher level of requirements simply because of the vehicle’s propulsion technology.

Logistics UK members have made it very clear that current legislation already places responsibilities on operators to ensure drivers can competently and safely use AFVs and do not agree that a voluntary accreditation is necessary either, an option proposed in the consultation.

The original derogation’s aim to encourage more van operators to move away from fossil fuels has not been realised as hoped for. Demand has been lower than expected due to the way the derogation was set up, which has in turn negatively impacted vehicle manufacturer’s investment in vehicle development of heavier alternatively fuelled vans.

Therefore, Logistics UK has welcomed the consultation and supports the proposals to remove the mandatory five hours training requirement and to allow all AFVs up to 4.25 tonnes to tow a trailer up to seven tonnes maximum authorised mass (MAM). We have also supported the expansion of the derogation to other alternatively fuelled vehicle types as this will simplify and streamline driver vehicle allocation, especially for the construction and events sectors that use specialist vehicles and people carriers, as well as equipment.

The consultation also looked at the definition of eligible alternative fuels, something that Logistics UK is keen to maintain. Continuing to include low carbon fuels in the definition will allow significant greenhouse gas emission savings to be made by operators that cannot fully electrify – and give them the confidence to invest in vehicles that can use low carbon fuels – until the market can provide appropriate zero emission vehicles.

With challenging decarbonisation deadlines for the van sector, it is vital that the derogation, with these amendments, must be urgently and permanently incorporated into law, to provide greater confidence for manufacturers and van fleet operators to make the necessary investments to this important part of the van sector.

FURTHER INFORMATION

logistics.org.uk/environment/netzero