Nissan's NV200 compact van is going electric, writes Brian Byrne from the Hannover Commercial Vehicles Show.
A working concept of the E-NV200 was revealed today in the livery of FedEx Express, the global deliveries company which is to trial the van in real life situations as part of Nissan's programme.
The E-NV200 is in the 'final development phase' and uses the same powertrain as that in the Leaf compact hatchback, which has so far sold in excess of 38,000 units worldwide.
The production version of the van will be built in Nissan's Barcelona factory, and a €100m investment has been made in the plant for this purpose.
The company says it will be ideal for urban work in places and at times where normal LCVs can't go, because it is virtually silent in operation.
FedEx Express already uses 130 pure EVs and 3,500 hybrid vehicles in its global fleet.
At its debut today, the company showed a useful accessory for the E-NV200 ... a convertor that allows workers to use electric power tools from the vehicle's own battery system.
