UK to get new light electric truck by year end
Thu 11 June 2009
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A new 3.5-tonne electric light truck is expected on the UK market by the end of this year. It will be distributed by Eco City Vehicles (ECV), the AIM-listed company headed by Chief Executive Peter DaCosta.
The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter, supplied by Daimler, is converted to run on electric propulsion backed up by an on-board LPG-powered generator. ECV says it will have a typical range of around 120 miles with a one tonne payload. In 2007, Daimler placed ten Mitsubishi Fuso Canter diesel-electric hybrid trucks on a trial with UK companies such as Tesco, TNT and Royal Mail.
DaCosta says he expects to sell the truck in a flagship store in east London on the same site as its KPM-UK subsidiary which already sells low-emission Mercedes-Benz Vito taxis. The company has signed terms with the truck’s maker, Veicolo Ecologici Metropolitani (VEM) in Italy, for exclusive distribution in the UK and Ireland.
DaCosta said: “We want to open up a dealership which specialises in environmentally-friendly vehicles. It would not only be about selling but also offer advice for companies wanting to go green.”
After London, DaCosta said, cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow are likely to be involved.
ECV's chairman is the Tory MP and former minister Tim Yeo who is now chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.
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