Skip advert
Advertisement

British brand EAV reveals modular electric van

It’s built on an aluminium skateboard chassis, powered by a removable battery pack and has a maximum range of 100 miles

Oxford-based electromobility company Electric Assisted Vehicles, has revealed a concept for a new pure-electric commercial vehicle. It’s called the Lightweight Inner-City Solution, or LINCS for short. As its name suggests, it’s an urban delivery vehicle designed to service a busy city and its surrounding boroughs.

LINCS is built on an aluminium skateboard chassis platform and is powered by two in-hub electric motors from Bicester-based EV powertrain manufacturer Saietta Group.

EAV hasn’t yet disclosed the size of the battery, but the company has said that each unit can store enough electricity for a maximum range of 100 miles in the city. The modular system means that the battery is easily removable, hinting that the LINCS has been designed with battery swap stations rather than charge points in mind as the primary source of refuelling. 

Advertisement - Article continues below

The LINCS platform is also completely modular in terms of bodywork. The driver’s cab can be bolted down on either the right- or left-hand side of the vehicle to suit both the UK and European markets, while the rear can be configured as a covered van, an open pick-up or a dropside loader.

EAV says it has futureproofed the LINCS platform with an arsenal of sensors and software, ready for when autonomous-capable vehicles become the norm. The vehicle’s bodywork is also made from completely recyclable composite materials.

Another feature of the LINCS is a “Road Train” function, which allows multiple vehicles to be chained together and work like the HGV road trains known on Australia’s highway network. 

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

The LINCS has also been designed to work alongside the eCargo, which is EAV’s smaller, pedal-powered, electrically assisted courier van. Both vehicles have mounts for the company’s specially designed cargo crates (called EAVRoRo boxes), of which the LINCS can carry four and the eCargo can carry one.

The idea is that the LINCS carries the crates into the city from the depot on the outskirts, where they can then be loaded onto a fleet of eCargos and delivered to their destination – and the firm says this system is more efficient than having a single van run all the deliveries.

Adam Barmby, EAV’s CEO and founder, said: “Towns and cities are vitally important to future living. We have a duty to urban communities, to the businesses that operate within them providing jobs, commerce and opportunities for the future. 

Our duty is to provide an efficient commercial and passenger transport system that enhances the quality of life for everyone and everything within that community. LINCS, as well as the other EAV vehicles, provide a better, safer, more cost efficient and higher environmental standard. 

It’s a big culture-shift step to walk away from the current legacy (diesel-powered) vehicles on the roads. It’s what we’re all used to after all and people don’t like change. But that change must happen and LINCS is a key part of the movement towards an exciting urban Future Transport vision.”

Now read our run-down of the best electric vans on sale now

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years
Upcoming Audi models - four-way image
News

Huge Audi new car blitz to bring us 9 models in 2 years

After a quiet few years, the German giant is gearing up for its biggest product onslaught to date
25 Mar 2024
Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power
Dacia Sandero - front
News

Posh new trim level for Dacia Sandero while the Sandero Stepway gets more power

Both the Sandero and Sandero Stepway ranges have been tweaked, gaining more safety features to meet the latest regulations
26 Mar 2024
Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay
Road tax documentation
News

Road tax set to rise in April: here’s how much more you’ll pay

Drivers with newer cars can expect to be paying roughly £10 more per year, a although the biggest gas guzzlers will fare the worst
26 Mar 2024