While BMW has a handful of battery-electric vehicles in its range, one kind of EV that it doesn’t produce is a commercial van. So, when BMW Group Australia decided it was time to add an electric delivery van to its fleet, it had to look elsewhere, opting for the LDV eDeliver 9.
The new van will be put to use at the BMW Sydney and Mini Garage Sydney dealerships and used to deliver BMW parts and accessories to accredited BMW body shops and other locations throughout the city. While it may be a little odd to see an LDV brand being used by BMW, the company’s Australian arm says it will explore the potential to add more EV vans to its fleet if the three-month trial of the eDeliver 9 proves successful.
Read: LDV’s Electric eT60 Pickup And eDeliver 9 Van Launch Targeting Commercial Sales Down Under
LDV, which is sold as the Maxus in most other markets, is part of SAIC and introduced the eDeliver 9 in Australia last year. It is powered by an 88.5 kWh battery pack and can travel up to 174 miles (280 km) on a charge. While that’s not much, it should be enough for inner-city use and will be charged between jobs at one of the many BMW Wallbox chargers. It offers 10.9m3 of cargo carrying space, or 10,900 liters (385 cubic-feet), and has a payload of up to 1,410 kg (3,108 lbs).
“There are numerous advantages to a fully electric van on an operational level, chiefly zero tailpipe emissions and noise reduction,” BMW Sydney and Mini Garage Sydney dealer principal Peter Kallitsis said. “This has benefits for our roadways and provides a cleaner option for our staff when they are working around the van and loading or unloading cargo in confined indoor areas. However, it also contributes in a meaningful way to the BMW Group’s global goal to reduce C02 emissions across the entire value chain – of which logistics are a key element – by 40 percent from 2019 levels by the year 2030.”
