Allied Electric Review & Buyers Guide

Allied Electric Review & Buyers' Guide

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Price on Application

Available as	Engine options	Volume (m³)	Payload (kg)	MPG
eBipper, ePartner eExpert, eBoxer	Electric	Battery

Our Verdict
Expensive to buy, but cheap to fuel and highly practical.

One of the most interesting businesses active in the UK’s van market at present is Glasgow-based Allied Vehicles. Aside from producing taxi conversions and wheelchair-accessible vehicles, it’s fast becoming a major converter of electric vans.

Its battery-powered line-up is based heavily on Peugeots and includes the eExpert.

Fitted with lithium-ion batteries and a 60kW Ansaldo three-phase electric motor, it boasts an average range of 100 miles between recharges and a top speed of 70mph. It takes from six to eight hours to recharge the battery pack fully.

Top payload is 580kg and the conversion can be specified on either the L2 H1 or the L2 H2 model. The former offers 6.0m³ of cargo space while the latter provides 7.0m³.

The eExpert whispers along city streets, which makes it pretty much ideal for early morning and late night deliveries. It’s potentially an invaluable tool for anybody engaged in lots of short-haul stop-start urban running.

If you can live with the range limitations, it only suffers from one drawback; and that’s the price. You’ll be paying a whopping £52,000, including the batteries; and they’ll need replacing some day.

Remember, however, that the cost-per-mile of the power required to propel eExpert is negligible; as much as seven times cheaper than the cost of fuelling a diesel. Remember too that you don’t have to pay Vehicle Excise Duty and that you can claim exemption from the London congestion charge.

e-boxer1

Above all though, there are no exhaust emissions; something to point out to prospective customers when you’re trying to convince them that you run an environmentally friendly operation with a low carbon footprint.

Covered by a three-year/unlimited-mileage warranty, eExpert’s electric power train requires an annual health check. Other items — brakes, suspension and so on — come under Peugeot’s regular maintenance regime, which means a 20,000 mile service interval. They’re covered by a three-year/60,000-mile warranty.

Allied can also supply electric versions of Boxer, Partner and Bipper.

Paul Nelson, Allied Electric MD, discusses the potential for electric vehicles.