The Voltia, a 100% all-electric zero emission van built on the basis of the Nissan e-NV200 was recently launched in London as part of an initiative by Mayor Sadik Khan to reduce emissions from light commercial vehicles and improve London’s air quality.
London’s air pollution is so severe that Mayor Khan has declared it a public health emergency. Nearly 9,500 people in the city die prematurely each year from air pollution, according to Kings College London. According to Transport for London, more than 281,000 daily road journeys in the city are due to commercial freight, 97% of which are by diesel powered vehicles, one of the most polluting fuels. Improving the city’s air quality is a top priority for Mayor Khan and this requires addressing vehicular diesel emissions.
Therefore, the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial seeks to demonstrate the effectiveness of new technologies and eliminate the risky trial and error period, thereby facilitating their widespread adoption.
The Voltia is one such innovation. It offers 8m3 of cargo space and walk-in rear door access, which are features of great importance to the parcel delivery community but lacking in other similarly sized vans. By retaining the width of the Nissan e-NV200, the Voltia is a perfect vehicle for tight urban roads. The Voltia’s will be operated in London by Gnewt Cargo, which has ordered 15 of them so far.
“Gnewt has been delivering in London for over 8 years using all electric vans and the Voltia will be a very welcome addition to our fleet,” said Sam Clarke, founder of Gnewt Cargo, “The added cargo space will allow us to better organise each van and load more per trip, therefore making fewer visits to and from the depot each day. The walk-in rear door access will be a great benefit for our drivers. Overall, the vehicles will increase our effectiveness and efficiency. We’re delighted to be leading the way in innovative operations courtesy of the Voltia design.”
“Nissan UK is very pleased to see the Voltia arrive in our market, and especially as part of such an important project,” said Karl Anders, National EV and Public Sector Manager for Nissan UK. “Voltia Automotive recognized the strength of the Nissan base vehicle and converted it to directly serve the needs of urban light commercial deliverers. We look forward to seeing Voltia’s making emissions free parcel deliveries throughout the UK.”
“The Voltia was designed to be the premier urban delivery vehicle and the best priced electric van with more than 5m3 of cargo space on the market,” said Juraj Ulehla, cofounder of Voltia Automotive. “We are pleased that Gnewt sees the valuable role that it can play in their delivery operations. At the same time, addressing air pollution is one of our primary motivations and so we are very happy to be helping Mayor Khan achieve his targets in this area too.”
The Voltia currently has a driving range of 106 miles. The new model with a 40kw battery pack will drive 173 miles per charge. It can charge in 30 minutes from a rapid charger, in 4-8 hours from a 32A wallbox charger at home or work, or in 12 hours from a regular wall socket. Voltia is already taking orders for the new model online.
