When will we see second hand electic vans?

[Deleted User]

Electric vans are relatively recent and too expensive for me. I am attracted to the idea that there's no road tax to pay and mot (but: is it still so?).

I am monitoring the market for a second hand electric van, but all I find is these mickey-mouse vans like the megavan:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aixam-Mega-Van-Electric-Van-/181652216328?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item2a4b50da08

Funny name, eh?

I would like to have an electric van that I can use as a car, van, and in the good season also as a stealth camper.

AdrianC

Nissan have an electric NV200, Renault an electric Kangoo and Peugeot an electric Partner, but all are fairly recently launched - the Pug in 2013, the others in '14 - so it's going to take a while before they depreciate much.

I'm not aware of any MOT exemption for electric vehicles, but since any properly maintained vehicle should waltz the MOT, it's really not a big deal, surely? There's plenty of window-versions of smaller diesel vans with very low or even zero VED.

If you want to go back a chunk, then Citroen did an electric Berlingo in the '90s/early '00s - a lot were scrapped early because of eye-watering battery replacement costs (about the same as a new diesel Berlingo), but there's still some about.

AdrianC

AdrianC wrote: »

I'm not aware of any MOT exemption for electric vehicles

I take that back. Electric goods vehicles are MOT-exempt.

At the moment. Can't see it lasting for long, once electric vans start to become widely available.

but since any properly maintained vehicle should waltz the MOT, it's really not a big deal, surely?

That still stands, though.

Norman_Castle

Electric van as a camper?. Freedom of the road, or to within the limited range of a charging point. Plan your route carefully.

Car_54

Electric vans have been around for decades, and were used in thousands for milk delivery, for which they were ideally suited - limited range, frequent stops, quiet operation, based at depot for charging.

The fact that they were never taken by other industries probably tells you they were unsuited for much else.

Nilrem

From memory UPS have been using some electric vans in certain cities for about 5-10 years, but they're not a standard commercially available model (I think like all their vans they're custom built onto a standard chassis), which I believe have a swap in battery pack to let them put a fresh set in whilst it's being loaded/unloaded at the depot (so no downtime for charging).

Unfortunately commercially available electric vans of the modern variety will likely take a long time to trickle down onto the secondary market, certainly at an affordable price given the main thing that wears out on them will be the battery packs (as opposed to motor/engine), and they're probably mainly being leased with the batteries included in a maintenance agreement at the moment.

Certainly I'd be wary of second hand ones when they do pop up, as the price of the replacement battery packs can be more than the cost of a new IC van (even electric mobility scooters with their simple, old tech twin batteries can cost 10-30% of the price of a new unit for the batteries).

specialboy

Why are they mot exempt just because they are electric? Surely the running gear is the same and needs to be of a safe standard before driving on the rad.

rds60h

Vauxhall were building electric CF Vans back in the late 1970's, although the battery system was not particularly advanced and they didn't have much of a distance range.

forgotmyname

Do you holiday within 30 miles of your charging station? Electric camper is going to be very restrictive.

20 - 30 mile range. And just pray nobody crashes into you because it probably wont have been crash tested.

[Deleted User]

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Electric van as a camper?. Freedom of the road, or to within the limited range of a charging point. Plan your route carefully.

forgotmyname wrote: »

Do you holiday within 30 miles of your charging station? Electric camper is going to be very restrictive.

I plan to use the van as a stealth camper to sleep in it during weekends. I don't expect to travel much, at least not very long distances and not frequently. I don't have a steady income and I move frequently, but not very long distances. Hard times!

So, electric van it is not (yet)!

Nodding_Donkey

Norman_Castle wrote: »

Electric van as a camper?. Freedom of the road, or to within the limited range of a charging point. Plan your route carefully.

Or tow a generator