Load ranger – we test the LDV EV80

Commercial vehicle operators are pretty savvy. In their world, long-term operating costs can trump initial purchase price. They rarely operate on passion when it comes to their vehicles – they want numbers on a spreadsheet.

They also better understand their vehicle use, unlikely to resist a short-range vehicle because the annual run to the skifield may become slightly trickier.

Which will make them a key market for electric vehicles – and the distributors know it.

Renault New Zealand is already in the segment with their Kangoo ZE, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen have plug-in vans coming, and even Ford is testing a PHEV version of its Transit in Europe. Most of these vehicles are used for ‘last-mile’ deliveries. From a depot to city locations – 100-200km with the ability to recharge during loading should do the trick.

And this is exactly where LDV distributor Great Lake Motors has pitched the first large electric van offered for sale in New Zealand, the EV80. The 10.4 cubic metre cargo van can carry up to the 1000kg payload (down 400kg on the diesel version) – fitting up to three pallets. They claim the high-efficiency lithium iron phosphate battery can be fully charged in two hours, giving in a 150km to 180km range with about half the maximum payload.

With a 56kWh battery and weight of around 2,600kg, we wanted to find out for ourselves how far we could push the van. The plan?

Collect it in Takanini, and drive north through the city, running delivery style errands before some highway work north. There was one restriction, the prototype model on test does not AC charge – like the production model does – so we had to keep ourselves in range of a suitable charging station. A demo before our departure meant we were also leaving with a not-quite-full battery.

While initially empty, and with an Auckland storm blowing away or planned load, we managed to find a few things to throw in the back of the LDV – a desk, some heavy magazine boxes and the Niu all-electric scooter. We like to think this was the first time a road-registered EV has been carried inside another road-registered EV in New Zealand.

While we are back here, we should note the LDV is well kitted out. There is a full metal barrier for cabin safety, handy load hooks and lining for the floor, walls and wheel arches – a practical touch missed by some mainstream commercials.

The relatively small load failed to dull the performance of the van. The front-wheel drive unit offers 100kW and 320Nm and is tuned for work within town. Acceleration is pretty good to around 60km before it tapers off. The van is limited to 107km/h – though feels at home on the motorway as the top speed is restricted rather than simply being a power limitation.

There is some whirr from the drivetrain; otherwise, for a van, it is very serene. If there was a complaint about the van’s power it is how it transitions between drive and regeneration – at times it is perceptible both as a sound and a thunk through the van. It is very light and hopefully something that can be tuned out of the controller over time.

We think the EV80 steers and rides better than the rest of the LDV range. The electric power steering feels solid and responsive enough for round town work. The

weight of the battery removes the bounce experienced in this kind of vehicle and gives it a solid planted feel.

One slight concern we have with the vehicle is putting it in ‘Park’ does not lock the transmission – it is free to roll away unless you engage the electric handbrake.

Driving information is in short supply in the EV80. The fuel gauge has been repurposed into a basic battery meter, with the final red bar still indicating a state of

charge of nearly 20% in our tests. You also get to see battery voltage, a range meter – which we found fairly stable – and energy usage.

Oddly the power usage bars are the same as the regen bars, despite the vans ability to use power is over four times its ability to regenerate it.

The sector from Takanini to Auckland city via Penrose was fairly simple. We left with a range of 190km showing, and did the trip in largely the range we would expect to. The trip north was slightly more taxing, with heavy traffic keeping usage down as far as Silverdale, and motorway and open road highway speeds taking their toll. Still, with regen, the numbers did not fall as quickly as expected. We rolled past the last free DC charger at Warkworth a little nervous, but fairly confident we would make it to the next one – at the base of the Brynderwyns in Kaiwaka. And we did – arriving with 21km to spare.

That adds up to a very real world range exceeding 160km. LDV has been marketing the EV80 to customers with between 150km and 180km possible, and they are on the money. A little more caution and I see 200km as an absolute possibility.

Slow-fast charge

The prototype van we were driving is not a quick charge on DC; it will max out at just short of 28kW/h – which means two hours is about the best you will do from near empty to full.

A higher rate of charging is reportedly coming to the production models, but even then charge times on public chargers could become obstructive. Added to that, the distance from the front of the van to the charge point makes the use of ChargeNet units a little tricky – at Kaiwaka we had to park next to the charging park rather than in it to – just – reach.

Overnight and between job AC charging will solve this problem for commercial operators, though the investment in a 25kW charger may be a smart move, especially if multiple units are operated.

Not just a van

The EV80 is being pitched for more work than just cargo. A local ten-seater minibus conversion package is available, while you can also order it in a cab-chassis format. This is the basis for an electric campervan project – again with EECA funding – built in Auckland by Action Manufacturing.

Are there savings?

There is no getting away from the price of the EV80 – $69,990+GST, so a little over $80,000. This is nearly double a diesel ‘Bigger’ LDV V80. The cab chassis is $64,990+GST and the PSV-compliant minibus $86,500+GST. Charging for 20,000km of driving will cost around $930 at 15 cents a kW/h. For now, the government is letting you skip the Road User Charges, at least until 2020. The diesel version of the van will cost $4110 for fuel and RUC over the same distance. Nor is there an engine to service, so cross that off the list as well.

On fuel alone, payback for the purchase price difference is a smidge over 200,000km – a distance not unheard of for a delivery vehicle like this type to travel.

For many fleets, the argument over the move to electric being visible will come down to more than just hard operation numbers. Being green, and particularly the reduction in carbon is becoming a key corporate metric.
The EV80 fits this image well, and the fact that it is here years before another large van option gives, somewhat cynically, the best return on this.

For a commercial operator, there is the possibility of seeking assistance with getting a fleet of EV80s on the road. Already money had been provided by the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency to the adoption of van fleets.

Good enough, for now

The EV80 may not be perfect, it is based on an old and basic van design while drivetrain refinement could be better – and operators will need to carefully plan how they intend to keep it charged and ready for work. It arguably does not have the safety credentials and comfort features of large European vans, but this has yet to put off some operators.

Still, it does its job very well, and with a very usable range should appeal to operators who want to not only save on operating costs – but push the right image while they are at it.