Electric vehicles

[Chewster]

Now personally I'm not a far of electric cars....yet! They're not quite at the stage yet where they can really be used as a daily driver unless you live in a city and never leave...and of course they're expensive.

BUT! What about RM replacing the antiquated Vauxhalls and the new Puegeots (which are just a bit rubbish) with all electric vehicles? I read that DHL in Germany have developed and introduced electric postal vehicles a while ago and are now looking at mass producing them for anyone who wants to buy one. They have a range of 120km which would obviously be fine for town duties (that'd do my regular town duty for a week in fact), and it would be just a tiny bit too little for the longest rural delivery in my office (80 miles a day according to the old timer who tells everyone it's just the biggest duty in the world and that nobody else but him could do it).

Christmas would be a lot nicer without the diesel fumes from a yard full of dirty vans burning your nostrils and eyes....but then again it might just not be the same

[toomuchcoke]

Now personally I'm not a far of electric cars....yet! They're not quite at the stage yet where they can really be used as a daily driver unless you live in a city and never leave...and of course they're expensive.

BUT! What about RM replacing the antiquated Vauxhalls and the new Puegeots (which are just a bit rubbish) with all electric vehicles? I read that DHL in Germany have developed and introduced electric postal vehicles a while ago and are now looking at mass producing them for anyone who wants to buy one. They have a range of 120km which would obviously be fine for town duties (that'd do my regular town duty for a week in fact), and it would be just a tiny bit too little for the longest rural delivery in my office (80 miles a day according to the old timer who tells everyone it's just the biggest duty in the world and that nobody else but him could do it).

Christmas would be a lot nicer without the diesel fumes from a yard full of dirty vans burning your nostrils and eyes....but then again it might just not be the same

Nissan do a version of the NV200 van (basically their van in the Partner/Doblo class) with the electrics from the Leaf instead of a diesel. Slightly less range than the Leaf due to higher drag and weight, but should still manage about 80 miles[2]. Like you say, probably not quite long enough for the longest rural deliveries but certainly practical for replacing many (perhaps even most) of our diesel fleet[1]. In addition to the removal of the diesel fumes from our yards, there would also be the option to have the vans de-ice the windscreens before we even left the office to start loading.

The real issue is that we'd probably want them to do a version with induction charging (and fit induction charging pads in the parking spaces) so as to prevent people forgetting (or "forgetting" in some cases) to plug them in to charge. On the flip side, we probably wouldn't need to install the fast home charging units (or at least perhaps only a couple per office to deal with "oops, I forgot to plug it in yesterday!") and could just plug them into external 3-pin sockets because we'd have >12 hours to charge them up off the mains.

(There could also be the opportunity for the Royal Mail to make some extra money by signing up the National Grid's STOR service, enabling the National Grid to stop our vehicles charging en-mass if they had a power shortage.)

[1] We have some vans in my office that do 8 miles a day ... So we could probably get away with charging them up once a week!
[2] Nissan say "up to 106", so I'm assuming 80 is more realistic.

[Creditshampoo]

80 miles!!! Bullocks unless it's along a motorway

[Chewster]

I was actually thinking of the electric NV200! One could perhaps argue that a lot of duties don't need a van that size, but with packet volumes increasing every day then it won't be long before we do.

I imagine that induction charging pads in the parking spaces would be a bigger investment than using cables (I was thinking of the cables that hang down from above like you might see at an ambulance station), and I imagine they'd require a lot of upkeep. How would they perform outside under a sheet of ice or snow in the winter? We could probably do with just a couple of them per office as you say to deal with emergency needs, I think even the common RM ape would manage to remember to plug the van in at the end of the day (though, I have seen people drive off in a van only to be towed back 20 minutes later because they didn't fill her up [we have our own diesel pump in the yard]).

It's a shame RM doesn't have the same inginuety and scope as our German counterparts. I imagine DHL will A) have saved a pretty penny by keeping vehicle development "in house" and B) will most certainly be making a pretty penny by having those vehicles mass produced.

[toomuchcoke]

I was actually thinking of the electric NV200! One could perhaps argue that a lot of duties don't need a van that size, but with packet volumes increasing every day then it won't be long before we do.

Great minds think alike?

The other idea that occurs to me would be a van with the powertrain from a plug-in hybrid like the Golf GTE installed. However the issue there is that (AFAIK) all the plug-in hybrids use unleaded rather than diesel, so it would obviously raise the chances of someone sticking the wrong fuel in a van. (You have to work at it to get diesel into an unleaded vehicle as the nozzles too wide, but the other way is entirely possible ... or some I'm told ... )

I imagine that induction charging pads in the parking spaces would be a bigger investment than using cables (I was thinking of the cables that hang down from above like you might see at an ambulance station), and I imagine they'd require a lot of upkeep. How would they perform outside under a sheet of ice or snow in the winter? We could probably do with just a couple of them per office as you say to deal with emergency needs, I think even the common RM ape would manage to remember to plug the van in at the end of the day (though, I have seen people drive off in a van only to be towed back 20 minutes later because they didn't fill her up [we have our own diesel pump in the yard]).

I'd imagine the induction charing pads would be surface mounted in the parking spaces (realistically you want them as close as possible to the corresponding pad on the vehicle to maximise efficiency). I was going to say you'd want to bury the cables, but that would be true whichever charging method you went with. To be honest I'm not sure how they're affected by snow/ice, but it would obviously be something to check before going that route.

Given the existence of the Nissan "Car Wings" software, I can imagine a centralised version whereby the DOM could check before leaving the office that every e-Van was plugged in and charging.

It's a shame RM doesn't have the same inginuety and scope as our German counterparts. I imagine DHL will A) have saved a pretty penny by keeping vehicle development "in house" and B) will most certainly be making a pretty penny by having those vehicles mass produced.

From what I've heard the "total cost of ownership" for electric vehicles is lower than that of an equivalent dino-powered one. The brakes and brake pads last longer, there's no clutch to wear out, no engine oil to replace and dispose of ... etc etc

[Deadly]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Royal Mail had a fleet of electric Sherpas in the 1980s/90s.

[Chewster]

I'm sure there must be some diesel plug in hybrids out there but I wouldn't know to be quite honest. I'm not sure hybrids would be such a good move for someone with such a large fleet as hybrids have more parts to maintain. But then again the economic saving for the longer deep rural duties and certain other trips (we have one collection driver in our office who does an 80 mile round trip every evening, usually just to drop off a handful of letters to the mail centre) would most likely outweigh that.

I'm honestly surprised that RM don't really seem to be looking into this tbh

[TrueBlueTerrier]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Royal Mail had a fleet of electric Sherpas in the 1980s/90s.

http://archive.commercialmotor.com/arti ... r-steps-to" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

THE POST OFFICE has taken its first major steps towards electric mail vehicles with the purchase of 80 electric panel vans worth £800,000.

The order will be divided equally between Freight Rover and Bedford with both Sherpa and CF vans powered by the same Lucas Chloride driveline and CAV 40kW (54bhp) de traction motor.

The Post Office operates 27,000 vehicles including 6,000 one-ton panel vans, and has one of the largest fleets in Europe. The 80 vans are by no means a final commitment to "electrification," rather, according to chief motor transport officer Peter Smith, a major trial into the economics of electric vehicles. "They've got to prove themselves," he said.

The vehicles will be used on normal collection work, although he sees no problems with their inherent mileage limitations. "The fleet pattern of our conventional vans fits the 50-mile-a-day limits of the electric van."

They will be placed in batches of 10 to 24 at Post Office depots throughout the country including Aldershot, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth, beginning when the first of the vans are delivered over, the next three months.

If the trials are successful, the PO could take a major step away from conventional internal combustion engined vans. It estimates that 4,000 diesel vans currently used on urban collections and deliveries could be replaced by electric vehicles, saving £1.23m from the Royal Mail's £25m annual vehicle fuel bill.

Despite additional infrastructure costs for charging units and garage modifications, Mr Smith predicts savings of up to £300 per vehicle on fuel and maintenance for the electric vans.

The Post Office was one of the original participants in the 1978-82 joint Greater London Council/Transport and Road• Research Laboratory/Department of Industry London Goes Electric scheme with three early model electric CFs operated from a West London depot.

Freight Rover views the order as "very important for the future of electric vehicles because the Post Office is so big in fleet user terms". The 40 electric Sherpas further reinforce the company's presence at the lighter end of the PO fleet which already includes a high percentage of Sherpa vans.

Bedford has sold 179 electric vans since full production began in February. Freight Rover will have sold 150 by the end of the year Both electric vans are built on the company's regular light van assembly line.

Originally printed on the
10th november 1984

[Dorset Plodder]

Totally Agree that Electric vehicles would be a Great Leap forward . A lot of our duties are only about 20 miles total, so range wouldn't be a problem. Might be for some of the Deep Rurals.

Royal mail lost ALL it's Green Credentials when it took away the Push Bikes (and in my DOs case replaced them nearly one-to-one with vans ) I think it'd be a good idea, and since we've recently been lectured about the cost of fuel to our Fleet, it might be a good economic choice.

[TrueBlueTerrier]

could buy them from Deutsche Post http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... 40&t=76626" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; they are manufacturing and selling them.

[greengiant]

Good luck to Deutsche Post! "Open Source" vehicles can only be a good thing

[Chewster]

That's the very ones I was on about TBT!

[SpacePhoenix]

Can't see electric vans being viable, how many DOs would have the room to be able to park them ALL in their yard as each would need its own charging point

[DB1100]

In the office where I work,most folk would be in that much of a rush to carve the jobs up that they wouldn't have time to plug them in when they got back off delivery,other people wouldn't plug them in because so and so would be using them tomorrow,and Royal mail are hopeless with anything that uses a battery,already our new PDA's are down to half life after the end of our walks,so I dread to think how many vans would be left on the streets with flat batteries,don't forget in winter you are going to want the heaters going as well.

[Deadly]

I'm sure I've read somewhere that Royal Mail had a fleet of electric Sherpas in the 1980s/90s.

http://archive.commercialmotor.com/arti ... r-steps-to" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

THE POST OFFICE has taken its first major steps towards electric mail vehicles with the purchase of 80 electric panel vans worth £800,000.

The order will be divided equally between Freight Rover and Bedford with both Sherpa and CF vans powered by the same Lucas Chloride driveline and CAV 40kW (54bhp) de traction motor.

The Post Office operates 27,000 vehicles including 6,000 one-ton panel vans, and has one of the largest fleets in Europe. The 80 vans are by no means a final commitment to "electrification," rather, according to chief motor transport officer Peter Smith, a major trial into the economics of electric vehicles. "They've got to prove themselves," he said.

The vehicles will be used on normal collection work, although he sees no problems with their inherent mileage limitations. "The fleet pattern of our conventional vans fits the 50-mile-a-day limits of the electric van."

They will be placed in batches of 10 to 24 at Post Office depots throughout the country including Aldershot, Brighton, Middlesbrough and Portsmouth, beginning when the first of the vans are delivered over, the next three months.

If the trials are successful, the PO could take a major step away from conventional internal combustion engined vans. It estimates that 4,000 diesel vans currently used on urban collections and deliveries could be replaced by electric vehicles, saving £1.23m from the Royal Mail's £25m annual vehicle fuel bill.

Despite additional infrastructure costs for charging units and garage modifications, Mr Smith predicts savings of up to £300 per vehicle on fuel and maintenance for the electric vans.

The Post Office was one of the original participants in the 1978-82 joint Greater London Council/Transport and Road• Research Laboratory/Department of Industry London Goes Electric scheme with three early model electric CFs operated from a West London depot.

Freight Rover views the order as "very important for the future of electric vehicles because the Post Office is so big in fleet user terms". The 40 electric Sherpas further reinforce the company's presence at the lighter end of the PO fleet which already includes a high percentage of Sherpa vans.

Bedford has sold 179 electric vans since full production began in February. Freight Rover will have sold 150 by the end of the year Both electric vans are built on the company's regular light van assembly line.

Originally printed on the
10th november 1984

Interesting read.