When the UK's Green-Car-Guide got started in late 2006, the site's stated goal was to "end motorists' confusion about green cars." Well, considering everything that's happened in the last 18 months, I doubt everyone concerns have been fully addressed, but at least there's more information out there to let people figure out what vehicle might be right for them. If you'd like still more information, and you will be near Liverpool next week, you can see some energy-efficient vehicles on display at Green-Car-Guide Live! 2008. Think of it as the website in the metal.

The free (registration required) one-day event will happen at the Arena & Convention Centre in Liverpool on Tuesday, June 12th and is aimed at businesses and those with vehicle fleets. The show will feature a 100 percent biodiesel racing truck, a Honda Civic hybrid rally car, an electric Smart, and electric vans from Smith and Modec, among many others. There will also be seminars on green vehicle topics (sustainable biofuels, anyone?). Makes me wish we could do ABG Live!

[Source: Green Car Guide]

The latest company to start trials of the Modec battery-powered delivery van is UKMail. UKMail is a division of Business Post Group and they are operating the Modec van in west London within the congestion zone. The electric van has a number of potential advantages. Along with the obvious emissions advantage (as in no direct emissions) electric vehicles are exempt from paying the congestion charge, and they don't have to pay road taxes. The Modec is capable of carrying two tonnes up to 100 miles at speeds of up to 50 mph. The silent operation also makes it suitable for deliveries in residential areas in early morning hours or in the evening.

[Source: Transport New Network]

Since the first moment I laid eyes on it, I've thought the Modec electric truck was a thing of beauty. A little more aerodynamic than its freight hauling frères and a whole lot more quiet. Need I mention the lack of diesel smoke? I thought not. After reading all the specs and mulling it over for about 10 seconds it occurred to me that this vehicle would look great in UPS brown. Sure enough, it does.

According to BigLorryBlog, the company has begun putting the Modec (they really do need a catchy model name) through its paces within the London Low Emission Zone. So what does UPS think about this big brown truck? "The quiet, carbon-neutral vehicle is the first of its kind to effectively harness the power of modern, high energy batteries to meet the medium range, high performance requirements of hard working, urban delivery vehicles." I think, as with Tesco, they like it, they like it!

[Source: BigLorryBlog via TNN via Green Car Congress]

Well, here's at least one neat vehicle that Europeans currently have that Americans will soon be able to buy: the Modec all-electric truck. You might be familiar with the Modec from our previous posts (see below) but the short story is that this is a delivery van specifically designed for modern city parcel delivery. You can see in the photo above and in the gallery below that the Modec does not have any doors on the side of the cab. Instead, the driver steps out the back of the cab, grabs the package, and can then exit the van on whichever side of the road is closer to the delivery location and/or safer. Smart.

I spoke with Lord Jamie Borwick, chairman and founder of Modec, and Catherine Hutt, Modec's marketing and sales coordinator (listen here, 13 min, 9 MB) about the truck. "We are battery agnostic," Borwick told me, and explained that with the self-contained battery packs that the truck uses, future batteries can be easily swapped into the powertrain. Currently, the batteries themselves weigh a ton, but in three or five years lighter or more powerful batteries can be used to give upgraded performance. The Modec truck is capable of a 50 mph top speed using either Zebra batteries (which use sodium nickel chloride chemistry) or lithium ion. The cost for these trucks starts at £30,000 (around $60,000) and the battery is leased to the buyer. The way Borwick described it, it's just like when you buy an ICE - you don't buy all the diesel fuel you'll ever use up front. Of course, it's not like Modec will give you free electricity as part of the battery lease, but that's another issue. Cost for the U.S. version is not yet set, and neither is a delivery date.

Related:

• Modec to start EV van exports to the Continent
• Meet the MODEC: Electric Delivery Van

The all-electric Modec compact delivery van, known for being the choice model for British supermarkets Tesco, has been shown to prospective buyers in Amsterdam (in a left-hand version) during the Dutch Road Transport Exhibition. Modec has just opened a new office in the Netherlands and the first Dutch customers are small companies in the metro area of Amsterdam.

This Modec van has a 102 HP electric motor which can compete with diesel-powered counterparts, although the maximum speed is limited to 80 km/h (50 mph). The maximum distance these vans can run is 160 km (100 miles), which is enough for local services. The truck uses lithium batteries.

The van is available in many configurations: truck, open truck, panel van, refrigerated truck. And it's a model designed from scratch for electric use, instead of being a conversion model. Looks like they're on to something here.



Related:

• Axeon gets £2.5 million lithium ion battery order
• Meet the MODEC: Electric Delivery Van
• Tesco will be first UK company with all-electric, zero-emission delivery fleet

[Source: Modec via Moteurnature]