INSIGHT INTO THE A-TO-Z EV RALLY
How did teams get on driving 1,500 miles in electric vehicles and charging on the public network?
BMW turned heads on the A-to-Z EV Rally 2024
Fully connected with charge optimised route maps and a host of features to elevate the journey, the A-to-Z EV Rally was comfortable, ride for team BMW
BMW UK was pleased to join the GREENFLEET EV Rally 2024, featuring two teams in the latest additions to the BMW all-electric model range; the new BMW i5 Touring and BMW iX2. With a fully electric range of up to 343
miles* and 570 litres of loading space, the new BMW i5 Touring fuses advanced technology with an elegant design, generous space, exceptional refinement and responsive BMW driving dynamics – making it the perfect companion for a 1,400+ mile road trip. The recently launched BMW iX2 was just as ready, bringing all-electric driving enjoyment with plenty of space, a striking, modern design and an electric range of up to 266 miles**. While happy to embrace the A-to-Z theme, inspired by the ‘old school’ road maps, the technology within our BMW cabins was anything but. Fully connected, accessed via large curved display screens, with charge optimised route maps and a host of features to elevate the journey, the roadtrip was
comfortable, supported by convenient tech. The My BMW App allowed our teams to plan the next route from the comfort of each check point to find the most convenient and optimum route and charge point while also checking our electric range health, remotely.
It was great to join the fleet of 50+ vehicles, while showcasing the every day potential of the latest BMW electric models. The trip was a good demonstration of the joy and convenience that BMW all-electric can bring to fleets with zero driving emissions.
Charging infrastructure is improving rapidly, as is the range consumers can expect from new electric vehicles. BMW all-electric models provide customers with reassuring electric range capabilities, more than capable of most daily commutes and everyday journeys while delivering the rewarding BMW driving dynamics that one would expect. Inside, our vehicles are packed with the latest technology and connectivity to support drivers on every journey, for example by intelligently planning routes for optimised electric range and charging.
“We are thrilled to have completed the 2024 EV Rally. It provided a great opportunity to showcase our latest all-electric products, including the new BMW i5 Touring, BMW iX2 and MINI Countryman. With rewarding driving dynamics and a host of technologies,
we hope to have demonstrated the joy and convenience that our electrified product portfolio brings to fleets,” said Matt Collins, general manager of corporate sales for BMW Group UK. Discover more about the BMW allelectric model range. Alternatively, arrange a fleet demonstration for your business below. M
These range figures are for the *BMW i5 Touring eDrive40 M Sport and **the BMW iX2 eDrive30 M Sport. Battery electric vehicles requiring mains electricity for charging. Whilst we recommend the battery for these vehicles are charged to 80% to help optimise the life of your battery, the electric range figures shown are the WLTP figure after the battery had been fully charged to 100%. WLTP figures are shown for comparability purposes. Only compare fuel consumption, CO2 and electric range figures with other cars tested to the same technical procedures. These figures may not reflect real life driving results, which will depend upon several factors including the starting charge of the battery, accessories fitted (post registration), variations in weather, driving styles and vehicle load. FURTHER
A-to-Z EV Rally: A true test of public charging
Now in its fourth year, the EV Rally is designed to test electric vehicles and the public charging infrastructure. For 2024, the challenge was heightened, with more miles and a more diverse mix of vehicles taking part – from cars to trucks, vans, 4x4s, used-vehicles, minibuses – and even a motorbike. So how did the teams get on?
Designed to be a real-life test of how electric vehicles get on while driving long distances and relying on the public charging network, the A-to-Z EV Rally saw over 50 electric vehicles drive around 1,500 miles up and down the country for five days from 1-5 July.
Sponsored by Lex Autolease, the event was also an opportunity to showcase charging innovation, with many checkpoints at clean energy projects to demonstrate what the future of clean re-fuelling will look like.
The A-Z EV Rally follows the success of the first EV Rally Of Scotland (EVROS) in 2021 and the Great British EV Rally in 2022, which covered the length of John O’Groats to Land’s End. In 2023, the rally visited all capital cities of the UK and Ireland.
This year’s EV Rally saw teams navigating an A-Z theme - with participants visiting checkpoints in alphabetical order.
The 1,500 mile route
Starting at the AA’s premises in Oldbury, and finishing at Cawley House in Chester, the route took teams to see innovative clean energy projects, charging hubs, towns, and scenic viewing points, all in alphabetical order.
Day one covered just under 270 miles, departing Oldbury and visiting the Harris Maxus dealership in Liverpool, the Jetty Museum at Lake Windermere, Dovenby’s motor circuit, the River Ellen in Maryport, with an overnight stop at Carlisle. E
F On day two, participants ventured north to Gretna in Scotland, before heading east to Gateshead, then south towards Sheffield. Checkpoints included a PoGo charge at M Galleries Shopping Centre in Washington, the Heugh Battery Museum in Hartlepool, the Sports and Social Club, in the shadow of Drax’s Power Station in Selby, a Compleo charging top-up at Tingley Garden Centre near Leeds, with the final destination at Mercedes-Benz Trucks’ Tankersley offices.
The third day was known as “The Beast”, with teams having to negotiate around 365 miles as they headed east towards Grimsby, then south towards Cambridge, via Norwich. Check points included a National Grid power station, a visit to myenergi’s sustainable HQ near Grimsby, GRIDSERVE’s impressive Electric Forecourt in Norwich, Osprey charging facilities in Diss, a solar farm at Staughton Airfield, and a chance to look at the Environment Agency’s electric fleet at Ely.
Teams left Cambridge on day four for another challenging day of 315 miles. With visits to South Mimm’s Services for some AppleGreen charging, the third stop was a brand new EV charging facility from AW Energy, featuring a wind turbine, battery storage, eHGV charging capability and ultrarapid chargers - showcasing what the future of EV charging and clean energy looks like. The route then took the Rally to the Fastned
Superhub near Oxford, BMW UK & MINI’s premises in Farnborough, and GRIDSERVE’s charging stations at Exeter Services.
The final leg of the Rally on day five covered 265 miles miles as teams headed through Wales, with the final ‘Z’ checkpoint at the ‘Z’ero carbon Rhug Estate, an organic farm estate with a sustainable business model. The “wrap party” for the Rally was hosted by headline partner Lex Autolease at the impressive Cawley House in Chester.
So how did the teams get on?
In a nutshell, all teams navigated the Rally successfully, meeting checkpoints and reaching their final destination on day five. For some, careful planning of stops was the strategy. For others, it was to rely on in-cab technology and apps to charge as and when needed, to replicate a more ‘traditional’ approach to refuelling.
Needless to say, those in vans, trucks and motorbikes had to be more careful with planning, due to their shorter ranges, access limitations – and in some cases, specific charging requirements.
Team National Grid, for example, were in a van, a 4x4 (not yet on the market), a motorbike and a converted classic Porsche – with none able to do over 150 miles on a single charge. Head of fleet Lorna McAtear explains the reasoning behind this: “We are using vehicles that are not mainstream or are
Lex Autolease hosted Quentin Willson in an eight year old Tesla Model S with 253,000 miles on the clock
For some teams, careful planning of charging stops was the strategy. For others, it was to rely on technology and apps to charge as and when needed, to replicate are more ‘traditional’ approach to refuelling
new to the sector. We want to remind people that there are different vehicles out there and not to forget these niche areas when looking at solutions and infrastructure.”
Joining Lorna on Team National Grid was BBC South’s Transport Correspondent Paul Clifton with daughter Frankie, driving a classic Porsche which had been converted to battery power by Everrati.
The EV Cafe’s Sam Clarke was also on Team National Grid – and chose to ride the 1,500 journey on an electric motorbike – the first time ever attempted in the Rally. The bike, provided by Zero Motorcycles, could only take a slow charge, using AC current rather than DC, which posed extra challenges. One solution was to plug the bike into a car overnight so it was fully charged the next day.
Lead sponsor Lex Autolease hosted motoring journalist and FairCharge campaign lead, Quentin Willson, on their team, driving an eight year old Tesla Model S with 253,000 miles on the clock. Quentin observed that the vehicle was still returning around 250 miles on one charge – showing that EV batteries “last much longer than people believe”.
Seeking truck friendly charging
Truck manufacturers DAF and Mercedes Benz Trucks took part in the Rally, to experience how “truck-friendly” the public charging infrastructure is.
Team DAF, who were behind the wheel of an LF Electric, observed that on some occasions, they would get to charging facilities and be faced with obstacles like weight restrictions or canopies with width restrictions. DAF got round some of these issues by seeking out truck-specific charging facilities, such as their Norwich-based Dealership which has a 180 kWh DC electric vehicle charging facility from Paccar.
Team Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK took part with a loaded 44-tonne eActros 600, E
SPONSOR’S COMMENT
Showcasing a convoy of BMW electric power on the EV Rally
Reflecting on BMW Group’s participation in the rally, Matt Collins, general manager of corporate sales for BMW Group UK said, “We are thrilled to have completed the 2024 A-to-Z EV Rally. It provided a great opportunity to showcase our latest all-electric products, including the new BMW i5 Touring, BMW iX2 and MINI Countryman. With rewarding driving dynamics and a host of technologies, we hope to have demonstrated the joy and convenience that our electrified product portfolio brings to fleets on their electrification journey.” L
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.bmw.co.uk
Matt Collins, general manager corporate sales, BMW Group UK
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The
Rally’s EV charge card partner Paua generously provided RFID cards to participants, giving them access to 53,000 charge point connectors and 35 networks
F which comfortably got through the Rally, thanks to its range of over 300 miles.
Data from Paua observed the eActros 600 took a charge session at the Norwich GRIDSERVE forecourt which reached maximim power of 349.8kW, which is a record for the site. What’s more, the session ran at full power until 94 per cent when the load started to drop off, and this is despite the load being shared with a parallel charger.
Team Maxus were behind the wheel of an eDeliver 3, eDeliver 7, and MIFA 9 to show their versatile electric commercial vehicle offer, with “electric van man” Paul Kirby taking part, interviewing key members of the Maxus dealership network on route. As Logistics Partner, Maxus also provided the set-up crews with electric vans.
Team Europcar had a Jeep Avenger, Skoda Enyaq, Mercedes EQE SUV and Renault Kangoo E-Tech Van as their vehicles. They were driven by EV record breaker, Kevin Booker, Europcar’s head of electric mobility Tom Middleditch, and others from the business.
Tom Middleditch explained why the Rally was eye opening, even for seasoned EV drivers: “Every member of the Europcar team already drives an EV as a company car. However, like most people who drive for business, much of our week uses the same roads and routes and the same charging routines, whether at home, the office or elsewhere. What the E
Truck manufacturers DAF and Mercedes Benz Trucks took part in the A-to-Z EV Rally again this year, to experience how “truck-friendly” the public charging infrastructure is for vehicles of their size and weight
F EV Rally did was take us out of our comfort zone – and it proved that going into the unknown wasn’t that unknown at all.”
Kevin Booker was pleasantly surprised with the performance of the Renault Kangoo E-Tech Van. He said: “A small van, probably largely designed for ‘last mile’ deliveries, proved to be the unexpected star of the week. The on-board charger came into its own as we travelled the country. It was quick to get up to 50 per cent charge. And being a smaller battery there was less weight to carry making overall performance better. But the main point
we all took from the Kangoo E-Tech was that by the sheer nature of it needing to adhere to the 60mph speed limit, it proved that smooth, steady and consistent is the way to get the best performance out of any electric vehicle”.
Europcar was also the Rally’s Vehicle Provider, and hosted media crews Sara Sloan and John Curtis in Teslas, as well as GREENFLEET event organisers.
Technology for a smooth-running rally
The Rally’s EV charge card partner, Paua, generously provided RFID cards to participants, giving them access to 53,000 charge point connectors and 35 networks, which were easily located using the Paua-designed EV Rally app.
Team Paua chose to drive a second-hand Renault Zoe, with the aim of showing that there are affordable options for everyone, as well as an electric van – the Nissan E-NV200.
Team Webfleet meanwhile were behind the wheel of the Volkswagen ID.7 and a Toyota Proace electric van with 200kg of additional weight. And as the event’s technology partner, Webfleet fitted selected participating vehicles with advanced telematics solutions to provide
insightful data on vehicle performance, location tracking and efficient route planning, as well as data on EV-specific metrics such as battery status and range. This data enabled league tables to be created to find out which teams were driving the safest manner and most efficiently, with more on this later.
Webfleet also partnered with Justdiggit to positively offset the carbon emissions that resulted from charging on the EV Rally for the third year running.
As roadside assistance partner, Team AA took part in the Rally again, with AA president Edmund King OBE leading the team. Commenting on the infrastructure improvements, Edmund King OBE, said: “Three years ago when we did the Rally in Scotland, we planned meticulously; I had a co-driver with a laminated sheet with every charge point listed. You don’t need that now. The cars have got much better range, there are more chargers, and they are more reliable.”
Drivetech meanwhile was the Rally’s driver training partner and offered eco and safetydriving tips to help teams get the most out of their vehicles. E
Demonstrating the ease of electric vehicle driving and charging on the EV Rally
Participating in the 2024 A-Z EV Rally was all about dispelling the FUD – Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt – around electric motoring, going beyond the motorways and onto the A-roads that most drivers use most days.
Our own data shows that there are still a lot of businesses and private drivers that are not sure about driving electric. So anything that can be done to break down those barriers is important.
The big hurdle is knowledge around EV driving and ownership. Our research has also consistently found that uncertainty and misconceptions due to a lack of experience with electric vehicles stands in the way of drivers opting to go electric. Being part of the EV Rally was a critical step in improving knowledge and understanding. L
FURTHER INFORMATION
europcar.co.uk/en-gb/p/business/ fleet-services/electric
Tom Middleditch, head of electric mobility, Europcar Mobility Group UK
Team DAF were behind the wheel of an LF Electric to find out how “truck friendly” public charging is
BBC South’s Transport Correspondent
F Electric power
Team IVECO brought its eDaily Minibus with capacity for 23 passengers, and an IVECO eDaily with its “Mobile Power Station” which can power demanding equipment, such as road maintenance machinery or firefighting equipment. In the case of the EV Rally, it powered an electric power tool for a competition against Adam Bishop, one of the world’s strongest men. The challenge saw Bishop test his manual wood cutting skills against an IVECO-charged power tool, with the power tool taking the win.
Drax Electric Vehicles and its colleagues from BMM Energy took part in the Rally in a
VW ID Buzz and a Polestar. They confidently navigated the Rally with a strategy of charging as-and-when was needed – without prior planning, with the aim of showing that EV driving can be the same experience as driving conventionally fuelled ICE vehicles.
Tusker embraced the Rally with a BYD Atto 3 and Volvo EX30, completing it without any issues, as did Team OVO who took part in two Toyota Proace vans and two Volkswagen ID Buzzs, with multiple people from the business taking part over the five days.
Team Compleo UK were behind the wheels of a Hyundai Ioniq 5 and the Kia EV9, and proudly showcased their flagship installation at E
Paul Clifton with daughter Frankie drove a classic Porsche which had been converted to electric
Sam Clarke rode the 1,500 miles on an electric motorbike – an EV Rally first!
F Tingley Garden Centre on day two for a charge on one of their 56 EV chargers – an excellent example of hassle-free destination charging. Thanks to industry collaboration from Compleo, The AA, EZ-Charge, Formula Space,
and GREENFLEET, an all-female team was put together for Women Drive Electric – a community group that has been set up to be a “safe space” for women to discuss all things relating to EVs. Their presence in the
The Rally stopped at a new facility from AW Energy, featuring a wind turbine, battery storage, eHGV charging capability and ultra-rapid chargers
BMW & MINI hosted a checkpoint at their premises in Farnborough
striking pink-wrapped Tesla aimed to promote their aim of making electric vehicles more appealing and attainable for females, as well as promoting gender diversity in the fleet sector. BMW and Mini turned heads on the Rally, with their convoy of BMW iX2s, i5 Tourings and MINI Countrymen, showcasing the versatility of their electric vehicles offering. BMW also kindly provided GREENFLEET editor Angela Pisanu and Publisher George Petrou in a BMW iX2. Angela Pisanu noted a particular function that was useful in the vehicle: “The voice command is great; I did portions of E
Working together to prove the feasibility of electric HGVs
The EV Rally is a fantastic example of collaboration, helping push the boundaries of electric vehicle operation, especially relevant to those of us in the commercial vehicle sector, where those boundaries are all too apparent! By working together, we are helping prove the feasibility of electric trucks as well as highlighting the challenges that face operators – especially around access to a truck-friendly charger network. The team at GREENFLEET pull the event together with lots of hard work and professionalism and add a bit of fun for good measure!
Phil Moon, marketing manager, DAF Trucks
F the Rally on my own, so being able to just ask the vehicle where the nearest charging points were and not fiddle around, was a massive help.”
Team myenergi were behind the wheel of a Volkswagen ID. Buzz and BYD Seal, with cofounder Jordan Brompton hugely impressed with the 300+ mile range she was getting out of the BYD. As an electric vehicle driver for seven years, Jordan was not worried about the infrastructure and took part in the Rally to bust myths and misinformation about EVs.
Unpicking the data
The data uncovered from the Webfleet telematics revealed that Team National Grid came up top of the leaderboard for safe and sustainable driving in their Spartan EV,
and Team Women Drive Electric took the top spot for efficiency in their Tesla Y.
Data from Paua showed that 24,145 kWh was used on the Paua network during the Rally. The top three used networks were GRIDSERVE, Instavolt and Applegreen. Overall, the rally clocked up a total charge time of 479 hours. The single largest charge session was from the Mercedes-Benz Trucks UK in the eActros 600, and the single longest charge session was from Europcar, with the only overnight charge on a Connected Kerb point.
Final thoughts
The A-to-Z EV Rally concluded a success, with teams completing over 1,500 miles in their electric vehicles, whilst relying on the public charging network, without a hitch.
Teams were in agreement that the charging infrastructure is good, with those on previous rallies noting a big improvement from the earlier years, in terms of the amount of chargers, choice of speeds, and the reliability. Payment was simple (thanks to the Paua RFID card), and the technology to show location, type and availability of chargers was in abundance.
A good range of EV charging types, from fast charging hubs, to slower workplace and destination charging, were showcased, showing that EV charging can fit a range of scenarios.
The Rally also showed glimpses of truck friendly fast charging, demonstrating that the network is gearing up for a future where all vehicle sizes are catered for.
And crucially, the Rally showed the importance of industry collaboration in meeting net-zero targets. Event manager Colin Boyton summed up: “It’s been an epic five days, crammed full of innovation, clean energy, state of the art charging – and most crucially, it’s been an excellent example of collaboration. All the teams have come together with the collective aim of showcasing that electric vehicles and the public charging infrastructure is up for the job. I hope our “stress test” of public EV charging will go a long way in combatting EV negativity and misinformation.” L
Planning is now in session for 2025’s EV Rally, so keep your eyes on www.ev-rally.co.uk and the EV Rally LinkedIn page for more details.
SPONSOR’S COMMENT
EV infrastructure is availableeven in
rural locations
The charging infrastructure’s out there, including rural locations. That’s the clear message from Naomi Nye, head of sales at Drax Electric Vehicles, after taking part in this year’s EV Rally.
One day during the rally, Naomi and her co-driver Rosario Surace, EV charging specialist at Drax Electric Vehicles, travelled 370 miles and stopped for a very quick top-up charge whilst they also refuelled! It’s clear the industry still needs to do more, as people don’t understand the network. It’s no different from doing the same journey in a petrol or diesel vehicle. You’d probably make one or two stops to break up the journey, refuel, and get refreshments.
The highlight was the number and type of vehicles (from an electric motorbike to a 40tonne truck with trailer) involved in the rally. For me, this really demonstrates that EVs are suitable for a wide variety of commercial and operational scenarios. L
FURTHER INFORMATION
energy.drax.com/ev
Naomi Nye, head of sales, Drax Electric Vehicles
A green convoy turned heads … and changed minds
Four electric vehicles, four lead drivers, a host of guest drivers and passengers, as well as an EV record-breaker, made up the Europcar team on this year’s A-Z EV Rally
The vehicles on the starting grid – all fully liveried in head-turning Europcar green – were the Jeep Avenger, Skoda Enyaq, Mercedes EQE SUV and Renault Kangoo E-Tech Van. Europcar was also the official
vehicle partner for the rally, supplying Tesla Model 3s for the organisers and media crew.
As Tom Middleditch, head of electric mobility at Europcar explains, participating in the 2024 rally was all about dispelling the FUD – Fear,
Uncertainty and Doubt – around electric motoring. He said: “Europcar has invested in resources to help inform drivers of the reality of EV driving, as well as constantly adding to our fleet to provide the widest possible choice for renters. Being part of the EV Rally was another important step in helping us to deliver valuable, real-world insight into every aspect of electric motoring. And the experience was eye-opening from start to finish.”
Out of the comfort zone
Every member of the Europcar team already drives an EV as a company car. However, like most people who drive for business, much of their week uses the same roads and routes and the same charging routines, whether at home, the office or elsewhere. What the EV Rally did was take them out of their comfort zone – and it proved that going into the unknown wasn’t that unknown at all.
The Europcar team found that whilst charging infrastructure across the UK is good, spotting the signage for upcoming charge points can be challenging. However, once you find it, availability and accessibility is generally good.
With Kevin Booker, EV champion and record breaker part of the Europcar team on the rally, there were also important
learnings about driving behaviour which in turn delivered real world financial savings. Smooth, steady and consistent driving, reading the road and anticipating the conditions ahead were key to getting better performance. Gentler acceleration and letting the regenerative braking do the hard work to get the energy back were also good disciplines the team learned to adopt.
The role of rental
Overall, the A-Z EV Rally underlined just how useful it is to rent an EV for a week or more.
Putting an EV from Europcar through a normal weekly routine means drivers can experience charging at different locations; learn how different chargers work as well as how much they cost. It’s something the standard testdrive is rarely going to be able to deliver.
“It was a great experience to lead the green convoy”, concluded Tom Middleditch. “No one expects four green vehicles to come down the road. And certainly there were plenty of surprised looks at a green Mercedes EQE SUV.
“Europcar really is turning heads and changing minds about how easily electric motoring can become part of UK mobility.” M
FURTHER INFORMATION
europcar.co.uk/en-gb/p/business/fleetservices/electric
Drax Electric Vehicles team takes part in GreenFleet EV Rally
Between the 1 st and 5 th, colleagues from across Drax participated in the GreenFleet EV Rally – in a Polestar and, from their fleet, a VW ID Buzz Cargo
Summing up why Drax took part in the event, Naomi Nye – head of sales for Drax Electric Vehicles – said: “The EV Rally helps to demonstrate what’s possible. By disproving negative media coverage about vehicle range, model availability, the UK charging infrastructure, and how electrification can help businesses achieve their net zero ambitions, it shows that electric’s the way forward. At Drax, we’re passionate about helping UK businesses electrify their fleets, so it makes perfect sense for us to participate.”
The Drax EVs team and other colleagues not only drove the whole distance between them,
but also hosted “Checkpoint I” (for Innovation) at the Drax Sports and Social Club. They welcomed over 100 EV experts – from companies including The AA, Europcar, Ovo Energy, National Grid and Paua – to this local community hub alongside their plant near Selby, North Yorkshire.
The teams arrived around lunchtime and took advantage of the much-needed refreshments on offer. Drax also provided access to an interactive exhibition about their power station’s 50th anniversary of generating electricity for the country, plus games (including golf and pinball). These helped explain other aspects of operations across the Drax Group.
They also took the opportunity to film interviews with the teams too, to better understand why they were taking part and hear their thoughts about important topics in the EV arena. You can see these short videos on the Drax Electric Vehicles LinkedIn page.
During the week, Drax teams recorded incar conversations about the public charging facilities they were using and the future of EVs. And after they crossed the finishing line, they were asked about their EV Rally highlights and what they’d learned.
Naomi said the biggest learning related to her driving style. “The telematics data we had from Webfleet, offered valuable insights into driver behaviour and energy efficiency over the five
days. That’s useful information I’ll carry forward into driving my Tesla.”
Terry Mohammed, head of EV charging installation and BD with BMM Energy Solutions (part of Drax), sums the rally up perfectly.
“Meeting like-minded people who have a passion and flair for decarbonisation is liberating! And, having seen the public network and EV trucks in action over the five days, everyone at BMM feels we should switch our fleet to electric as soon as we can.”
Drax are already looking forward to next year! M
Testing the progress of truck accessible chargers
If the EV Rally is a challenge for passenger cars, it is doubly so for trucks. So, what drove DAF to come back for the 2024 EV Rally, having successfully completed the 1,200-mile five capital cities event in 2023?
Whilst truck manufacturers like DAF have a growing number of electric models already in the market, uptake lags the passenger car sector by some years. Of course there are a number of reasons for this; the same concerns car buyers held about cost, range and recharging infrastructure, now need to be addressed for truck buyers. And those
truck buyers are hardnosed decision makers with a real appreciation of cost of operation and ownership, and how much impact any downtime due to charging could have on their businesses. Whilst, as in every tech shift, there are early adopters willing to take the plunge to benefit from early learnings and competitive advantage, there are many more that need to be convinced that the time is right for them to make the shift.
EV Rally
So, for the team at DAF the EV Rally plays a valuable role, helping demonstrate the capabilities of their Electric Truck Range. The DAF LF Electric, which has successfully
completed both events and started out as one of 20 similar trucks in the 18month Battery Electric Truck Trial, has delivered faultless performance to date.
“The EV Rally certainly grabbed the attention of the truck industry last year,” said Adam Bennett, EV & sustainability manager at DAF Trucks, “and this year’s event was bigger and better, and even more challenging given the extended route. Our LF Electric is a proven performer, however, and the 19-tonner took the five days in its stride.”
The second key objective of the rally for Team DAF is to explore the accessibility of chargers to trucks. Whilst the number of publicly accessible dedicated truck chargers is extremely limited, the DAF LF Electric has been able to charge up with little trouble. DAF marketing manager, Phil Moon explains how the team approached the challenge. “A number of the larger car charging stations have enough space to accommodate the LF Electric, which despite being over 10 metres long and almost four metres high, is actually very manoeuvrable. We try to find chargers of at least 150 kW to minimise waiting time – with a 254 kWh effective battery capacity, charging at 150 kW from 20 to 80 per cent takes around one hour.”
DAF is part of three separate consortia in the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstration (ZEHID) which will see not only around 300 zero emission heavy-duty long-distance trucks deployed, but also a network of publicly accessible truck specific charging stations.
This should make future electric truck journeys on the strategic road network a breeze.
The DAF Dealer Network
The DAF Dealer Network is also investing in a network of chargers to support their customers and Team DAF capitalised on this during the rally. On the first day, a top up at DAF’s UK manufacturing plant Leyland Trucks in Lancashire was enough to reach that day’s finish in Carlisle. Similar stops at DAF Dealer Ford & Slater in Norwich and at DAF UK Headquarters in Haddenham, both of which have 180 kW chargers, on days three and four provided a boost for internal engagement as well as for the LFP batteries. That engagement is another key objective achieved through rally participation. Whilst a small team piloted the LF Electric and an electric van on loan from DAF Dealer Brian Currie, which acted as a support vehicle for the event, they were joined by a number of other drivers and passengers over the course of the event.
The verdict
And the verdict after all those zero emission miles? Phil Moon summed it up. “It was a resounding success, showcasing the capabilities of the DAF Electric Truck Range, testing the progress in truck accessible chargers and above all, great fun!” M
