Three-week trial of electric van aims to combat real-world anxiety

A three-week trial offered by Europcar aims to show its customers the value of using electric vans.

Europcar Vans and Trucks is offering its customers a three-week test drive of an equipped Volkswagen E Transporter as part of an aim to allow drivers to properly experience an electric van and to measure how it performs in different weather and road conditions.

The organisations that see the benefit of switching to electric following the trial will be given customised vehicles to meet their specific requirements and preferences from Europcar.

The demo vehicle includes a 50Kw solar roof panel to power internal electric equipment to maximise battery range and a removable lightbar with full Chapter 8 compliance.

Ordinary test drives give drivers a maximum of 72 hours, which doesn’t always give them a full picture of electric van life.

A whitepaper launched by GreenFleet in partnership with Europcar highlighted one of the main barriers to van electrification being range anxiety, high upfront costs and a lack of van-suitable public charging infrastructure. 45% of fleet operators reported that real-world range fell short of expectations once vehicles were in day-to-day operation.

However, it also showed a bright spot, as 61% of surveyed fleets had electric vans in operations owing to sustainability goals and environmental concerns. Rental is viewed as an enabler to van electrification by eliminating risk and enabling fleets to experience new technology to see if it works in their environment.

Drivers are usually more positive about making the switch to electric vehicles once they’ve had a real-world test drive. By offering this three-week trial, Europcar aims to do exactly that – and reduce fleet emissions in the long run.