Bollinger Motors, previously known for its plans for electric pick-ups, has come up with an interesting new concept: an electric van. The result is called Bollinger Deliver-E and should answer the need of many E-commerce companies.
The Amazon.com-esque companies of this world would be desperate for a snazzy electric bus to replace their traditional gasoline or diesel powered ones. Bollinger is not the worst and makes a proposal for such a vehicle. In doing so, people seem to have thought carefully about the design and layout of the bus.
As with the off-roader and pick-up shown earlier, the available space is optimally used. The Deliver-E is somewhat narrower at the front than at the rear and even has a considerably wider track at the rear, as the photo of the front shows. This creates space for an enormous cargo hold, which must also be easily accessible. The rear doors extend almost to the street, so that an entrance height of only 46 cm is achieved here. The loading floor is completely flat and is only interrupted by the wheel arches, which have a relatively modest size.
Serious truck
There is also no lack of payload. Bollinger provides versions in the American ‘truck’ classes 2b to 5. Now Bollinger does not link concrete weights to this at this stage, but knows that 2b stands for cars of the Ford F-250 format, while category 5 is reserved for serious workhorses like the Ford F-550, but also for the lighter models of truck builders Kenworth and Peterbilt. The Deliver-E must be available in different lengths, with corresponding wheelbases.
Up to 210 kWh
Buyers of the Deliver-E should be given the choice of battery packs of 70, 105, 140, 175 and 210 kWh, the latter three being considerably larger than we are used to for passenger cars. Fast charging is possible up to 100 kW. That promises something for the range, although no concrete figures are yet known. In terms of total cost of ownership, the only thing that really matters in this world, Bollinger promises that this vehicle is a better choice for many users than what is on the market today.
Call for electric
It is actually quite strange that there is no more attention for electric company cars, now that almost everything is purchased via the internet. Electrifying the commercial vehicle fleet seems like an excellent way to clean up the air in cities, but there is still little demand. No doubt that has to do with things like availability, costs and of course usability, but Bollinger still thinks it is possible to come up with an electric ‘van’ that is a solution for many delivery services and E-commerce companies. It is said that the design of the Deliver-E was even decided when it became apparent that there is a need for such a vehicle.
Electric vans are of course not new in themselves. In Europe, for example, we have electric versions of the Renault Master and Volkswagen Crafter, while the smaller Nissan e-NV200 is causing a worldwide furore. However, the limited range does not make these cars suitable for every job, while the vehicles as a derivative of regular diesel vans do not offer any unique advantages in terms of loading volume or layout.