Your servant with ZEV Managing Director Paul Nelson, proudly standing before his converted Peugeot Electrical Taxi...

Electric powered zero emission vehicles were also very much present at the Peugeot stand on the Brussels Salon. We ran into Paul Nelson, Managing  Director of the firm ZEV, part of the Allied Vehicles Group, carefully checking the electric internals of a black Peugeot Teepee Taxi conversion, which has been done by them. Why the collaboration with Peugeot? - was my first question. “We are Peugeots’ biggest customer in the UK, purchasing some 2.500 vehicles, Diesels, as wheelchair vehicles and taxis, and we now have branched out with electric converted Peugeot Experts and Boxers. Using lithium Ion batteries, we have a range of about 160 kilometers, with a top speed of 90 to 100 kilometers” commented Paul Nelson.

The electric internals of the ZEV conversion. Notice the big red plug, used to recharge the lithium-ion batteries overnight...

Of course there is keen interest and support by government. “ The UK government has a low carbon vehicle procurement programme, and we are one of the five suppliers of electronic vehicles”, continues Paul, “mainly Boxers, but some Experts as well.”

We also wanted to know if for setting up these electric conversion, there is some technical cooperation with Peugeot. “Very much so, continued Paul.” Peugeot is now looking at how they can send us the cars with gliders, without the engines, without fuel tank and exhaust, without clutch. Hopefully we will get delivery of those cars in the very near future.”  

ZEV is building some 35 demonstrators at the moment, and in the first year they plan to sell some 200 cars. But Paul is optimistic, and believes they will sell many more.

The electric conversion does not change the interior of the vehicle at all...

Inspecting one of the cars, we hardly noticed the conversion. The electrical motor is tucked well away under the bonnet, the batteries are placed under the floor.  There is virtually no change to the interior of the vehicle. There is of course plenty of practical use for these cars, one has only to think of restaurant gourmet food delivery cars, with lot of start/stop traffic in cramped inner city centres… not forgetting the electric milk and diary car, such a familiar sight on British city streets…and soon electric Taxis will be all the rage!  

Harbinger of things to come: the Prologue…

The PROLOGUE HYbrid4 concept car on display at the salon lifts a corner of the veil on a new type of cross-over. Next to its style, its interior ambience, its modularity, and its original high-tech equipment, it sports also the next generation HDi FAP hybrid technology called “HYbrid4”, including 4 wheel drive. With a diesel engine driving the front wheels and an electric  motor powering the rear wheels, this spacious yet compact 147 kW (200 bhp) car generates a particularly low level of CO2 emissions: 109 g/km in the combined cycle, and of course zero in “electric only” mode.

Your servant standing with Patrice Ramage before the Hybrid Prologue...

We talked about this car and other things to come with Patrice RAMAGE, director of the Peugeot Monospace and Utility vehicles model range.   

“This future is already there with the 3008, which has just been introduced”, said Patrice RAMAGE . “We developed a hybrid solution on this car with on the rear axle an electrical motor added. This hybrid version will be launched in 2010. You already met our Scottish colleagues from Allied Vehicles which are building and  selling all- electric ZEV’s. We are now setting up left hand drive on these cars, to widen our clientele. For bigger trips, the hybrid solution is better, but for city traffic a (small) all-electric city car seems to be the right way to go.”

 

Bold, beautiful and available in hybrid form in 2010: an artist impression of the Prologue...

 

 “Big progess is being made in battery technology, with the present lithium-ion batteries being a big step forward” continued Mr. Ramage.

“Looking  at present-day technology, the focus is now more on petrol engines which are constantly being improved, just look at the new generation of 1.4 and 1.6 litre petrol engines, which are being developed in collaboration with BMW. This new generation of petrol engines will be substantially more efficient than the present one. One has also to keep in mind that investing in a new engine generation is a lot more important and costlier than developing and building a new model/bodywork, which happens typically in 7 year intervals, whereas a new engine generation lasts more than a decade”,  concludes Patrice Ramage

                                                               

We will soon drive the new Peugeots, amongst others the remarkeable Peugeot Teepees and Bippers, and tell you more about our driving impressions on these pages…

 

Hans Knol ten Bensel