(WEV) ROYAL MAIL'S E-PARTNER VANS TO BE BUILT IN UK

French automotive brand, Peugeot, will supply Royal Mail with 2,000 new electric vans to expand the postal service company’s fleet of EVs.

The order is split equally between Peugeot e-Expert and Peugeot e-Partner vans that will join circa 28,000 Peugeot vehicles already in use by the national delivery service.

“I am incredibly pleased that we can continue to support Royal Mail with models from our award-winning electric van range, including the Peugeot e-Partner, which is set to be produced right here in the UK at our Ellesmere Port plant from early next year,” said Julie David, managing director, Peugeot UK.

With the aim of having 5,500 electric vehicles on its fleet by Spring 2023, 70 of Royal Mail’s delivery offices have made the transition to electrification, with many of the vehicles used to deliver parcels and packages to customers in cities that operate with low emission zones, such as London, Bristol, Glasgow, Cambridge, and Oxford.

Royal Mail’s commitment to reduce emissions throughout its operations goes hand in hand with the Stellantis-owned automaker’s electrification strategy, which aims to provide customers with an electrified variant of each model in its range by 2024.

“With every van in our range already benefitting from an electric version and every car offering an electrified variant by 2024, we look forward to continuing our support of the Royal Mail and its ambition for a greener future,” added David. WhichEV - link - Pulkit Malhotra - link - more like this (electric vans) - link - more like this (Royal Mail ev charging) - link - more like this (Royal Mail) - link - more like this (Stellantis) - link

(CNB) STELLANTIS SIGNS JV WITH LG ENERGY

Chris Feuell, CEO of Chrysler brand of Stellantis, introduces the all-electric Chrysler Airflow Concept vehicle during a Stellantis press event at CES 2022 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 5, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada.- Alex Wong | Getty Images

DETROIT – Automaker Stellantis and LG Energy Solution will invest about $4.1 billion through a joint venture to establish the first large-scale, domestic, electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility in Canada, the companies announced Wednesday.

Construction of the plant in Windsor, Ontario is scheduled to begin later this year with operations planned to launch in the first quarter of 2024, according to the transatlantic automaker. 

Once fully operational, the plant is expected to have an annual production capacity of more than 45 gigawatt hours and will create an estimated 2,500 new jobs, Stellantis said.

The new plant is part of the automaker’s plans to accelerate its EV investment to achieve sales of 5 million EVs globally by 2030. That includes all sales in Europe and 50% of passenger car and light-duty truck sales in North America.

The announcement is the latest for automakers regarding battery plants, also known as gigafactories, as the companies attempt to pivot to all-electric vehicles during this decade. Nearly every major automaker globally has announced such plans, including allocating billions to the production of batteries – the most critical component for such vehicles.

Stellantis – the world’s fourth-largest automaker – was formed in January 2021 by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA. It has 14 individual auto brands, including Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot. CNBC - link - Michael Wayland - link - more like this (ev batteries) - link - more like this - (Canada) - link

(ANE) STELLANTIS H2 VANS PRODUCTION BEGINS

The Opel Vivaro-e Hydrogen van is one of three launched by Stellantis this autumn. Range is 400 km on the WLTP scale.

The era of hydrogen-powered vans has begun at Stellantis, which is starting limited production of medium commercial vans from Peugeot, Citroen, Opel.

Peugeot will deliver its first e-Expert Hydrogen van to Watea, a subsidiary of the Michelin group, the brand said Wednesday. Citroen will provide e-Jumpy Hydrogen vans to energy provider Suez, and Opel’s first Vivaro-e Hydrogen models will be in the hands of appliance maker Miele.

The vans are based on full-electric versions, and use a “mid power” hybrid powertrain that can deliver 400 km (250 miles) of zero-emission range on the WLTP cycle without having to spend hours recharging batteries, the brands said.

At the heart of the powertrain is a 10.5 kilowatt-hour battery, which can be recharged conventionally with a plug, offering 50 km of range. This range is included in the 400k m total figure.

But its primary source of charge is a 45-kilowatt fuel cell with a 4.4-kg tank that can be refueled in three minutes.

The brands say the hydrogen powertrain does not affect cargo capacity, which is 5.3 cubic meters for a shorter version and 6.1 cubic meters for a longer version. The vans have a payload of about 1,000 kg.

The vans will be assembled at Stellantis’ Sevel Nord plant in France, then converted to hydrogen power at the group’s center for hydrogen expertise in Ruesselsheim, Germany. Automotive News Europe - link - Peter Sigal - link - more like this - link