Battery Vehicle Society

Spotted in Leeds, TNT have got 4 of these. They do 60mph and will go 100miles! It was quick off the mark too. Built in Newcastle apparently. The driver was very pleased with it. Anyone else seen one?

That's a Smiths Newton, that is.
http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/ourranges.asp

Not seen one in real life, though. Good spot, Ian.

Up in Leeds now.

Interesting I wonder if its one of the recent batch of 50 apparently shipped to TNT. Thought all the others were in Landan, with a couple in Bristol.

TimS

I have never mentioned my hearing as it hasnt exactly been relevant ( nor exciting) but though only 42 I am what you might call half deaf owing to an explosion a few years back.

The other day I came out of our compound which is on a small but busy light indistrial estate and was nearly mown down by one of these , resplendent in its TNT livery. I couldnt believe it at first I had a sort of
' lord Im not that deaf ' moment just for a second until I saw the powered by electricity slogan on the lorry.

This one was in North London by the way and I have never seen one before myself. Didnt catch the reg but it was shiney and imaculate I suspect brand new. I'll try and catch it on vid if i see it again

Made me laugh , wouldnt have laughed if I'd been squashed though.

Last September I went on a tour round the Tanfield factory in Washington Tyne and Wear where they make them. There was one there in TNT livery.
Peter

I have been looking at Smiths for a while now as I would like a small van for work. The cost is quite prohibative for a small business though.

Our milkman took a real interest in my motorbike conversion. He used to drive an electric milk float years ago and really liked it. His diesel pickup is reaching the end of its life so he contacted Smiths to see what they could offer. The prices made his eyes water though. I can't remember the exact figure but it wasn't far off £30,000 for a replacement.

I can understand your point of view night train. I have been showing off the new Micro Vett LDV Maxus to potential clients, and the size of the business is the most crucial factor to a commericial EV. Larger companies can lease over a 5 year period and then the cost is not such a big issue EV's have a higher monthly lease rate than a derv vehicle but the running costs are considerably lower. IMO until more EV's are in use by the larger fleet users the cost will be out of most normal peoples reach. We had a few buyers from different size companies and with a varying understanding of the cost side of EV's, a guy from a very large company was explaining to a small company that the initial cost price is high but you have to take into account that you are buying the fuel in advance. It was a way of thinking that I had not considered. That aside, the cost is off putting for the smaller business.

Even with the understanding that it is like buying the fuel in advance it is still a big chunk of initial outlay. That is one of the things that make it difficult to change from diesel. My company is only part time and single handed and can't stretch to the paying so much up front. It is almost a job by job basis like my materials.

I am using biodiesel at the moment at 99p/l. I could reduce that further by buying 1000l at a time but again it is a lot to lay out.

Also if my work was regular and frequent then I would consider leasing costs on a monthly basis but I can also go a month with very little and then a mad intense burst of activity. The rest of the time I have a 60 mile round trip commute to teach at college with no recharge facilities in the carpark.

Sounds like you need to have a chat with BBIG. Their QEV has a similar top speed and range. Their 14m3 load-bay version comes in at around £20,000 - which is around £3000 less than the equivalent Ford Transit.

They're also about to launch a smaller van with a 6m3 load-bay which looks very interesting.