It's one week to go until Birmingham’s NEC will once again be playing host to The Commercial Vehicle Show, where a plethora of new vans and some lesser-known brands will be unveiled.
Let’s take a look at some of the vans you don’t want to miss at this year’s show.
Kia is making a van, in case you didn’t know, and the CV Show will be the first chance for the British public to see this brand new electric van in person.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the Kia PV5 will be coming later this year with a van version and a passenger model that looks to be a direct rival to the Volkswagen ID Buzz.
On the van front, the new Kia van will be available in three sizes, with a short wheelbase model, long wheelbase and a long wheelbase high roof option. The biggest of the Kia PV5 dimensions puts it in roughly the same size category as other medium electric vans, but the smallest one is halfway between a small van and a medium one.
Kia has been slowly releasing information about the van, but we’re almost there. Kia UK will reveal the full UK pricing and specification at the show, as well as more details about its dealer network - a vital piece of the puzzle for any van operator.
What we know so far is that it will get a 120kW electric motor, with a choice of three batteries (although the UK models are likely to drop the smallest one in favour of the two larger batteries). That means there’ll be a 51.5kwh battery and a 71.2kWh option. Kia says the big battery version will have a total range of up to 249 miles.
Pre-orders are expected to open soon and the Kia PV5 price is likely to be around £30k when it arrives in dealerships later this year. It will then be followed by a Kia PV7 medium van and a Kia PV9 large van.
We’ve covered the launch of the Flexis vans before but now is your chance to see them.
Who is Flexis, we hear you ask? Well, it’s a new brand that’s a collaboration between Renault Vans, Volvo Trucks, and a French logistics giant. Together they’re producing a range of new electric vans specifically designed for large fleets. The lineup includes a chassis cab, a regular panel van, and their poster boy, the Step-In van.
While you can guess what the first two vans are (EV skateboard chassis, modular design, multiple batteries etc) the Step-In van is a little different as it’s particularly appealing to couriers.
That’s because it has a massive overall height of 2.8m giving it enormous internal height for all those lanky delivery drivers.
It will allows them to stand upright, and sort through the packages, with access made even easier to the load space thanks to a walk-through bulkhead. That enables the driver to easily move between the cockpit and cargo area, making it convenient and quicker for delivering packages.
Renault will debut the same three vans based on the Flexis models, but with Renault badges. More importantly the panel van will be the next electric Renault Trafic E-Tech.
There’s also the Goelette chassis cab and the Estafette name makes a comeback (after it was previously used on the concept van) for Renault’s own version of the Step-In van.
Interestingly, Renault Trucks will also sell the same models. Renault Trucks is owned by Volvo Trucks and has a long relationship with Renault vans through their shared name and the sharing of the Renault Master and Renault Trafic vans - which is usually sells as readymade conversions.
Renault Trucks are also at the show, although you’ll probably only see their heavier range.
The Farizon SV is the latest van from Chinese car maker Geely. It’s available in five different sizes from a medium electric van, right up to a very large electric van. It comes with a choice of three batteries, the largest of which is 103kWh, providing a range of up to 247 miles.
The payload maxes out at 1350kg, and the Farizon SV dimensions mean that the biggest version can accommodate up to 13 cubic metres.
Prices start at £45,000 for the smallest van with smallest battery. That’s a lot of money when you consider that the Ford E-Transit Custom is available for sale the same money.
It wouldn’t be a CV Show without Ford, and the Blue Oval will still be dominating the entrance to the show with its latest offerings.
The relentless overhaul of the Ford range has seen ever model get electrified in some way and this year’s CV Show will see the UK debut of the last piece in the puzzle, the plug-in hybrid version of the Ranger pick-up.
This Ford Ranger PHEV uses an 11.8kWh battery and a 78kW electric motor to add 28 miles of electric driving to the popular pickup truck.
It’s supported by a 2.3-litre petrol engine for when the battery runs out and you want to go a little further than just around the corner. Also on display will be the latest new vans including the Ford E-Transit Courier.
Isuzu will be showing its new D-Max Steel, a limited edition pickup with cosmetic tweaks and cool Steel Grey paint job. There’s also an “exclusive announcement” after 11am.
Could this be the long awaited Isuzu D-Max electric pick-up truck? Or perhaps as with previous years there’ll be a new collaboration with Arctic Trucks.
Register for your free ticket to the CV Show here.
