Nissan began deliveries of 50 e-NV200 electric vans under one of the largest orders to date to DHL in Italy.

The electric vans will be used in dispatches and delivery fleets in Milan and Rome.

DHL Express tested the e-NV200 prior to ordering and according to the press release, the electric version was able to keep up the pace of conventional ICE vans. As average daily mileage of these type of vans in real use in Europe is less than 100 km, we expect more EVs to come:

“The e-NV200 has been tested by many organisations and fleets globally and has now satisfied even the service demands of DHL Express in Italy. In a simulated daily use in the area of Rome, the Nissan van completed 45 deliveries and made 25 collections, entirely in line with the daily workload of a traditional vehicle, travelling approximately 120 km and therefore without running down the batteries, well within the vehicles 170km official range. Research shows that 70% of European van operators average less than 100 km per day, while 35% never exceed 120 km. Florence, Verona, Bologna, Naples, Salerno, Bari and Catania will join Rome and Milan in introducing e-NV200 to the fleets there.

Ideal for operations in the urban centres of the cities, where access is prohibited to vehicles with diesel engines, the Nissan e-NV200 boasts not only the complete absence of harmful emissions, but also huge savings on running costs with respect to a comparable diesel van, extraordinary comfort thanks to the complete silence of the engine, no gear changes and brisk acceleration.

Equipped with an electric motor that has been derived from that of the Nissan LEAF, with batteries that can be recharged to 0-80 percent in less than 30 minutes, using the CHAdeMO quick charging system, the e-NV200 is an externally compact vehicle but with transport capacity that is right at the top of its range. The van features a load bay of 4.2 m3, the equivalent of two Euro pallets, with a useful capacity of 770 kg. The battery pack, situated under the floor panel, does not intrude into the load area and keeps the centre of gravity very low.”

Bruno Mattucci, Managing Director of Nissan Italia stated:

“The start of deliveries of the first e-NV200s, which will be used for deliveries starting from the major Italian cities of Milan and Rome, is a further demonstration of Nissan’s commitment to spreading use of electric mobility throughout Italy”.

Alberto Nobis, Managing Director of DHL Express Italia commented:

“The agreement with Nissan is perfectly in line with the commitment we have been pursuing for years to the environment. Use of these innovative zero-impact vans is another part of the global GoGreen programme designed by Deutsche Post DHL to lower the Group’s worldwide CO2 emissions by 30% by 2020. Moreover, the Nissan Vehicles us to implement a sustainable City Logistics strategy, as they are also particularly well suited to making deliveries in historic centres”.

Source: InsideEVs