The all-electric van from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, the eCrafter, will be making its UK debut at the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC in Birmingham from 24-26 April, ahead of real-world testing beginning with UK customers at the start of May.

The first test vehicles were handed over to a group of major European customers at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ headquarters in Hannover in December. By allowing the vehicle to undergo tests with selected fleet operators, the company will be able to incorporate findings and learnings into the final design and production version of the zero-emission van.

Four UK customers are taking part in the tests: Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, City of London Corporation and the London Borough of Southwark. John Hole, Fleet Manager at Gatwick Airport, said: “We are delighted to be able to test the eCrafter ahead of launch and interested to see how the vehicle performs in everyday conditions and operations. Sustainable transport is an important focus for Gatwick across our entire business, including alternative fuelled vans and it is great to see such innovation in the supply chain.”

Like the conventionally-fuelled Crafter, the eCrafter was designed in collaboration with customers – in particular those whose vehicles cover between 70 and 100 km (about 43 to 62 miles) per day, sometimes involving many starts and stops. These parameters apply to around 85 per cent of the trips made in an urban setting according to analysis of more than 210,000 driving profiles with over 1,500 customers. The eCrafter has been tailored precisely to these typical city operations with its 100 kW power output, range of around 160 km (about 100 miles) and top speed limited to 90 kph (56 mph).

The eCrafter’s lithium-ion battery is completely integrated into the underbody, meaning the standard vehicle’s entire cargo volume (10.7 m³) is fully usable. A maximum payload of between 1.0 and 1.75 tonnes is available. At a CCS charging station supplying the battery can be charged to 80 per cent in just 45 minutes. From a wallbox, charging time to 100 per cent is around 5.5 hours.

The eCrafter will be available in September 2018, once it has been extensively tested by customers in practice and made fully ready for the market.

Commenting on the vehicle trials, director of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Carl zu Dohna said: “I’m really pleased we can show the eCrafter at the CV Show and look forward to talking to customers about their future fleet requirements. Our promise to work with all customers and provide them with bespoke mobility solutions to keep them and their businesses moving is at the heart of everything we do. Having the right vehicles, including alternatively fuelled vans, is essential and we are sure the eCrafter will play an important part in our future model strategy.”