B–On, makers of the B-On Pelkan electric van, has announced a new partnership with Chinese manufacturer Chery Group.
B-On and Chery wil for a strategic partnership, including the formation of a joint venture company in order to launch of the new Pelkan electric van in the light commercial vehicle sector.
The focus of the joint venture will be to develop, produce, and sell all-electric commercial vehicles.
The agreement will see B–On contribute its network for sales, aftersales, and branding in Europe and North America with the engineering design and product development of the Pelkan vans.
Chery Commercial Vehicle will provide manufacturing base as well as engineering and supply chain support.
The B-On Pelkan electric van is available with two battery sizes, giving rise to the Pelkan 43 and Pelkan 54 variants. It gets a claimed payload of up to 1350kg, and two batteries of 43kWh and 54 kWh.
The Pelkan will have a range of up to 279km for the bigger battery and 226km for the smaller unit.
Deliveries in mainland Europe will begin in mid 2024.
“Partnering with a major world leader like Chery Group is a pivotal moment for B–ON and its growth,” said Bruno Lambert, CEO of B–ON.
“Combined, our ability to provide high quality, low-cost electric commercial vehicles is unmatched in the market today, and I’m extremely optimistic about our joint prospects,” Lambert added.
“As a leading global automaker, we have long recognized the need to be prepared for an electric future,” said Tongyue Yin, Chairman of Chery Group. “Innovative, agile companies like B–ON are uniquely poised to supply the nascent and rapidly expanding commercial vehicle market in their local geographies but lack the manufacturing base to address the full mass-market demand. Our partnership makes for a perfect union. Together, our future is bright.”
Chery Group is currently the third-largest automaker in China with nearly 2 million vehicles sold in 2023.
Commercial vehicle version of the Renault 4 Van won't be coming to the UK, but never say never
Chinese vans star as nearly 15,000 attend the NEC show over three days to see new brand and vehicle launches
A quick look at the latest name in vans as we find out who is Chinese manufacturer Chery Commercial Vehicle
