This is a light commercial for niche applications.

Aixam’s odd-looking Mega Multitruck is busy carving itself a small but useful niche in the van market. Its customers are people whose work involves short local trips carrying lightweight items of equipment or who need something that can gain access to nearby locations that would be barred to a bigger vehicle.

Power comes courtesy of a 600cc twin-cylinder Kubota diesel developing a modest 15hp — we said it was for local runs — and 34Nm of torque. It is married to a continuously variable transmission.

Given that short trips are this van’s destiny, the battery-powered version may be of particular interest to many prospective buyers.

Up for grabs with either eight or 12 AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries — we’re talking about a variation of the valve-regulated lead-acid battery here — it offers a range of up to around 40 miles between recharges. It’s recently been fitted with an AC motor drivetrain which boosts acceleration times by around 10 per cent.

Diesel or battery, payload capacity goes up to 445kg and you get a 3.0m³ load area.

Mega Multitruck isn’t available solely as a van. You can order it as a pick-up, a dropside, a tipper and even as a bare chassis cab.

OK, it’s not the fastest vehicle on the road, and although the cab interior has improved over the years, it’s still a little basic. The electric version is cheap to run, however, and of course generates zero emissions.

Service intervals are set at 3,200 miles for the diesel — admittedly that’s short, but then you’re unlikely to be doing a huge mileage — while the electric model should have an annual service. You’re covered by a two-year/unlimited-mileage warranty in both cases.