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Bevan Group enters partnership to assemble electric vehicles
West Midlands-based Bevan Group has announced a landmark partnership with conversion specialist Voltia, under which it has been awarded a licence to assemble and market a zero-emission Nissan-based vehicle in Great Britain and Ireland.
Voltia is based in Slovakia, and hundreds of converted Nissan e-NV200s are already in operation with leading carriers across the continent, with many more on order. A modest number are also in service in the UK. However, the high costs associated with importing finished vans have restricted domestic take-up, which is where Bevan comes in.
The new arrangement means that not only can vehicles now be offered at a significantly more competitive price point than has previously been possible, but Voltia will also benefit from Bevan Group’s marketing expertise and extensive knowledge of the market in Great Britain and Ireland.
Bevan Group has entered a partnership with Voltia, under which it will assemble and market zero-emission vehicles in Great Britain and Ireland / Picture: Bevan Group
Production will take place at Bevan’s factory in Wednesbury and the company is aiming from launch to complete 10 vehicles each week. For potential customers, a fleet of demonstration vehicles are now available for trial.
Bevan Group will be converting Nissan chassis using imported panels and components supplied by Voltia. Ultimately, however, it plans to recruit an EV-dedicated workforce – creating up to 20 new jobs – and cut costs further by manufacturing all of the required parts ‘in-house’.
Voltia CEO, Juraj Ulehla, said: “We are proud to be working with Bevan Group, which we chose from a number of potential UK business partners due to its reputation and strong position within the industry.
“Not only will local production and distribution of our electric vans be more environment-friendly, thereby supporting British cities in their endeavours to reduce emissions, but this partnership will also enable us to smooth the process of delivery to the UK market, even post-Brexit. It’s a ‘win-win situation’ and we’re confident customers will appreciate the benefits.”
Voltia’s conversion features walk-in rear doors and offers a load volume of up to 8m3, which is virtually twice that of the standard e-NV200 – a variant with 6m3 cargo area is also available. It has a 580kg payload capacity.
The 2.2-tonne Nissan e-NV200 is ideally suited to ‘last mile’ delivery work in towns and cities, an increasing number of which are actively striving to improve public health by introducing clean air zones from which polluting vehicles are banned.
The vehicle’s electric motor produces 80 kW and 254 Nm of torque, and is good for a range of up to 200 km from a single charge. Voltia developed the conversion in close co-operation with Nissan – customers benefit from the chassis manufacturer’s standard warranty, while Bevan will back the bodywork with its own five-year cover.
Production will take place at the Bevan Group factory in Wednesbury and the firm plans to recruit an EV-dedicated workforce in future / Picture: Bevan Group
Anthony Bevan, managing director at Bevan Group, added: “This is a hugely exciting opportunity for our business. The Nissan e-NV200 with Voltia conversion is an outstanding product which combines the environmental compatibility of a fully electric, zero-emission drivetrain, with the market-leading productivity of an 8m3 carrying capacity.
“The fact that the driver can stand up in the back of the van also offers obvious benefits in terms of health and safety, while at nearly 125 miles its range comfortably exceeds the requirements of most, if not all, ‘last mile’ delivery specialists.
“These attributes also make the van a very attractive proposition for tradesmen such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters who work in urban areas, so we’ll also be offering a range of racking options to suit their needs.”
Anthony adds: “Important though it is, the launch of our new partnership with Voltia represents just the first phase of a major strategy under which we intend to establish Bevan Group as the UK’s number one provider of conversion and bodybuilding services for electric vehicles. We’ll have more news very soon, so watch this space!”
An approved supplier to some of the biggest names on Britain’s roads, Bevan Group builds more than 60 commercial vehicle bodies each week at its production facilities in Wednesbury, Halesowen and Oldbury, and at St Helens, Merseyside, which is home to Supertrucks, a specialist manufacturer of glass-carrying vehicles.