VW sees opportunities for a battery-battery commercial van in crowded and polluted megacities.
While battery power has severe range restrictions, automakers see great potential for small city car applications. But with the e-Co-Motion concept it unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show this week, Volkswagen has yet another opportunity in mind.
The German maker’s truck subsidiary sees a promising niche for short-distance commercial vans that could meet growing demand for clean vehicles in polluted megacities.
VW’s e-Co-Motion concept vehicle offers a large cargo area and the carrying capacity of eight hundred kilograms – nearly 1,800 pounds — of payload, while also producing zero emissions from its electric drive system, VW officials said.
“Electric mobility – especially in light commercial vehicles – could play a crucial role in meeting the growing transport needs of the world’s megacities,’ explains Eckhard Scholz of the Brand Board of Management.
A truck like the e-Co-Motion would become part of a larger commercial delivery network, VW officials foresee.
“Freight trains and conventional or hybrid-powered high capacity lorries would deliver goods up to the city limits. Then, at transfer stations, smaller electric delivery vans would take over. Their predictable travel routes and fixed depots would simplify battery charging and equipment maintenance,” Scholz said.
In fact, a number of electric vehicle proponents believe that they may initially find the most successful application in commercial use, whether in the form of trucks or standard passenger vehicles plying fixed routes in which limited battery range would not be a problem.
Other makers that also see opportunities include Ford Motor Co., which marketed an electric version of the Transit Connect until its partner went bankrupt, and Nissan which has showed off an all-electric version of the NV200 commercial van.
VW’s Scholz said the e-Co-Motion offers many user-relevant vehicle properties: high maneuverability with a small vehicle footprint, very good visibility and seating ergonomics with easy entry, exit and walk-through. A low cargo floor height and large cargo capacity make loading easier.
The concept vehicle is 179 inches long, 75 inches wide and 77 inches tall, giving the e-Co-Motion Concept about the same footprint as the Golf hatchback.
The overall design was enabled by partitioning the vehicle into separate zones – with all key drivetrain components placed below the floor — and an upper superstructure that is dedicated to delivery tasks. That portion of the vehicle could be customer to handle cargo, as in the concept vehicle, or a passenger shuttle, low platform or refrigerated box.