Van der Graaf
Page 65
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IN JANUARY this year Bedford announced that "mass production" of the Electric CF 1-tonne payload van powered by a 40kW (54bhp) CAV electric traction motor, had begun alongside conventional petrol and diesel engined models at its Luton van plant.
The term "mass," however, turned out to be something of a misnomer as the initial production run totalled only 175 vehicles, with government subsidy for each van.
In spite of this low volume, Bedford is still the most successful of the conventional commercial vehicle manufacturers producing electric variants on existing chassis, with electric van sales recently boosted by a number of substantial orders (CM April 14) including some (not surprisingly) from electricity boards. By 1990 Bedford predicts the market for electric panel vans will have risen to 10,000 units.
It would be difficult to argue against the environmental and, indeed, economic benefits of electric vehicles as the comparison table shows.
But given the current cost of petrol or dery (and the inevitability of their prices rising), it is perhaps surprising that electric vehicles have not gained more popularity with light van operators.
The answer roust surely lie in the vehicle's range, for running non-stop, fully laden at 3.5 tonnes gvw with a payload of 829kg (16.33cwt), our Electric CF test van could only cover a total distance of 44 miles before its batteries needed recharging — some 41.3 miles short of one complete circuit of CM's normal 85.3 mile Kent light van route.
With stop/start delivery work, this distance might be expected to increase slightly, as the Electric CF's 36 6v batteries are designed to regain a small amount of charge between each driving period, manufacturer Lucas Choride quotes a figure of approximately 50 miles depending on operation.
With its limited range, the Electric CF obviously could not be judged over our usual route. Instead, it was put through its paces around Lucas Choride's own Birmingham inner-city test circuit as well as CM's electric vehicle test route which includes a high proportion of inter-urban dual carriageway running be tween Nuneaton, Coventry and
Atherstone. continued overleaf