Maxxus eDeliver 9 - A Transit Killer?

While in the EV world the dream of all car makers has been the ‘Tesla killer’, the company to beat where it comes to fossil fuel powered vans has long been the Ford Transit. With an open playing field for the next generation of EV vans, could a Transit killer come from an EV maker? 

Mileage And Range 

One of the commonest whinges from delivery companies is that electric vans don’t have the range for their needs. Though a few years ago this might have been the case, battery tech has moved a long way. 

According to UK government statistics, the average annual mileage for a delivery van in 2021 was 21,200 miles a year. 2021 was a boom year for parcel delivery as people in lockdown went on an online shopping bonanza and delivery companies (and their vans) were at full stretch. 

Even so, based on a five day week and 52 weeks of use a year this still only amounts to around 82 miles a day. 

Enter The Maxxus eDeliver 9 

The Chinese company SAIC has started to sell the Maxxus eDeliver 9 that comes with an option of an 88kWh battery. This beast has a WLTP (combined) range of 185 miles. Even with normal, heavy-booted driving you’d see 120 miles of real world range here. 

Admittedly, thanks to permitted axle weights this particular version’s maximum payload is just 860kg (430 typical e-commerce parcels). If payload weight is all, you can go for the 72kWh version that has a WLTP (combined) range of 146 miles and a payload of 1040kg, or 520 parcels. You’d be talking of a van that could do an average day on the road here, perhaps with a quick fast-charge on the way. 

DC Fast Charging 

No matter the pressure on drivers, they need time out during the working day. They can plug the van into a DC fast charger in this time and both the 88 and 72kWh versions will be charged to 80% in under 45 minutes. At Christmas peak delivery times you could push the van and driver to 200 miles per shift and the van would still have enough juice with a proper lunchbreak! 

Ford Is Taking EVs Seriously 

So far, so good! The problem for SAIC is that Ford is one of the major global automotive manufacturers to pledge to go fully zero emission by 2035 at the recent COP26 summit. Its electric Transits are already being developed and road tested. Any player seriously interested in selling a proper Transit killer needs to be on the ball right now. As far as we can tell, the Maxxus eDeliver 9 is a real contender!