Yahoo Autos VW's Electric Commercial Van Promises 250-Mile Range, 3700-lb. Capacity
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles presented its "fully thought-out concept for zero emission city center delivery traffic" at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, Germany. The all-electric e-Crafter packs a range of 125 miles without sacrificing any cargo space, and its design already takes into account future battery developments, allowing battery upgrades with up to 250 miles of range.
This idea of an electric delivery van isn't exactly new, but it seem Volkswagen wants to revive it in a major way.
With emission standards getting tighter and tighter and a number of major European cities starting to consider banning internal combustion vehicles from their downtown areas altogether, many people strongly believe it's time for diesels to die. The Volkswagen Group happens to be a strong supporter of this idea (following the Dieselgate tsunami), and since they will need to spend so much money on electric research and development in passenger vehicles, it's clear that that technology is about to make its way into the automaker's commercial lineup as well.
The e-Crafter concept packs 312 lithium-ion cells hidden under the cargo floor, storing 43 kilowatt hours and powering a 134 horsepower electric motor that gives the van a maximum permitted speed of 50 mph. The e-Crafter's maximum payload of 3,767 lbs. gets motivated by 213 ft.-lbs. of torque available across the whole rev range. Maximum cargo space height also remains unchanged at 77.2 inches, giving you a total of 399 cubic feet to fill up with stuff.
Using the now available battery packs, the system can be charged back up to 80 percent in 45 minutes. It seems VW's electrified future will keep trade workers and delivery drivers in mind.
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