Peugeot is making a large play for domination in the van sector with a new series of EV vans taking payloads of up to 1275Kg. First announced last year, the e-Expert van builds on the success of the Expert model, which has sold more than 195,000 vehicles in four years. The new model will come in a considerable variety of ranges and configurations across two different types and three body lengths.
In a press release that manages to avoid the van press release cliche of the moment – “last mile deliveries” – the company divulges a lot of information around the new vans, which are expected to be available in the UK by the end of 2020. The French-produced vehicles – clearly aimed at being Peugeot’s competitor to the Citroen e-Dispatch and Vauxhall Vivaro-e – will have:
- Two battery capacity options – 50 kWh with a range of up to 143 miles (230 km) and 75 kWh with a range of up to 205 miles (330 km).
- Three sizes: compact, standard and long
- Two types of on-board chargers are available, to suit all uses and all customer charging solutions, with a 7.4 kW single-phase charger as standard and an optional 11 kW three-phase charger.
- The maximum speed is 80m/ph (130 km/h).
- 0 to 62mph (100 km/h) in 13.1 s.
- 100% electric motor with a maximum power of 100 kW and a maximum torque of 260 Nm.
- Up to 1000kg towing capacity.
- Turning circle diameter of 11.3m (Compact version between kerbs).
- Height limit of 1.9m.
- A new “e-Toggle” automatic gearbox control.
- A drive mode selector switch with Eco, Normal or Power modes, two regenerative braking modes, a phone app, heated seats and electric driving brake amongst the features that we now take for standard amongst EVs.
The e-Expert gives potential buyers a lot of choice to work through and while some may criticise that, it aligns nicely with Peugeot’s ‘Power of Choice’ philosophy to allow customers to pick a vehicle that is perfect for them. And while there’s no word on pricing yet, the release did give the car company a chance to announce its new range of services based on three main strands:
Easy-Charge:
- An offer of charging solutions for home or the workplace, partnering with home chargepoint providers to facilitate assessment and installation of the most suitable charging solution.
- A public chargepoint offer.
Easy-Move:
- Mobility Pass: a rental scheme to provide access to an internal combustion vehicle for a longer trip when required.
Serenity (“To reassure our customers during the vehicle discovery phase and allow them to enjoy their vehicle in complete peace of mind,” according to the release but it seems like they missed a trick by not having the last option match the others and start with ‘easy'):
- Adapted service contracts and roadside assistance.
- A certificate of battery capacity.
- The battery is guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles (160,000 km) for 70% of its charge capacity.
Details on this were sketchy so it’s not known if this will be offered to all EVs, what will be paid for and what will be free of charge. But with the announcement of the e-Expert so soon after Nissan's e-NV200 XL Voltia, it's clear that your choice of commercial EVs is expanding fast.