The year 2018 seems to bring the breakthrough of eVans for commercial use in cities. European car manufacturers publish their new announcements of these electric models almost every week. The reason for this is a significant increase in demand from traders from classic suppliers such as Iveco, Daimler, Renault, MAN or VW.
The consultants at McKinsey see the reason for the increased demand in a clear tailwind from the expected tightening of regulation in combination with increasing customer confidence, established charging infrastructure, model availability and improved profitability. Are the ranges of the manufacturers today already good enough for the requirements in delivery traffic? What about the digital connectivity solutions designed to make everyday work easier for drivers?

We start our overview of the latest OEM announcements today with MAN’s Munich-based company:

With the eTGE, MAN is sending its first pure eVan
MAN has announced that it will start series production of the eTGE, its first purely electrically powered van, in July. Although it only has a range of up to 160 kilometres, MAN has the ‘excuse’ for this right at hand. The low range is sufficient, because about 70 percent of the delivery vehicles used in the city drive less than 100 kilometers per day on average.

The payload for eTGE v, which costs around 69,500 euros, will be between 950 and 1700 kilograms. This is a payload made for the city.

MAN’s loading times are also rather restrained. A 40 kW charging station will charge 80 percent of the battery in 45 minutes. With the help of a three-phase current wallbox, the eTGE eVan can be fully deployed in just under five and a half hours. It takes almost 9 hours to fully charge with 220V AC.

The electrically front-wheel drive TGE is equipped with a permanently excited synchronous motor with a maximum recallable power of 100 KW under the driver’s cab. A really agile driving behavior is called up by the immediately applied torque of 290 Nm, which can be called up over the entire speed range. In combination with the maximum speed of 90 km/h, this results in a consumption of approximately 20 kWh per 100 kilometres.

In addition to the loading volume, the assistance systems also remained unaffected by the e-technology. The eTGE comes from the factory with a comprehensive range of basic equipment including a navigation system, heated windscreen and other aids to make driving in the car easier and safer.

Apart from the VW E-Crafter, the most important competitors are the Iveco Daily Electric and the French Master Z.E from Renault. Mercedes-Benz is also currently working on an electric version of its Sprinter for 2019, of which only test vehicles are currently in use at selected customers.

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