LAUNCH FIAT PROFESSIONAL E-DUCATO F


iat Professional’s E-Ducato elec- tric van will be offered in up to 400 different versions. The com-


pany says the van, which is now availa- ble to order, can be had in almost every configuration that is already available with diesel power. That means panel vans from 10-17m3


, chassis cabs, vari-


ous roof heights, wheelbases and gross weights of 3.5 and 4.25-tonnes. The vans, which remain front- wheel driven, are built with a mod- ular battery layout beneath the load floor. There are two battery sizes on of- fer, 47kWh and 79kWh, offering WLTP combined ranges of 105 miles and 175 miles. Fiat claims that this means ur- ban ranges of up to 146 miles and 230 miles respectively should be possible. The company is offering an 8-year/100,000-mile warranty on the smaller battery and a 10-year/136,000- mile warranty on the larger battery. There are four charging options, up to a 50kW rapid-charge input that will of- fer 60 miles of range in just 30 minutes. All of the vans drive through a 90kW electric motor, generating 280Nm of torque. They have a Drive Mode Se- lector offering Normal, Eco and Power settings. There is also a Turtle mode, similar to a battery saving function on a smartphone, that can make a low bat- tery level last up to 8-10% longer. Lastly, there is a Recovery mode, that ensures that even if one of the battery modules fails, the van will continue to travel on the other modules, reducing the chance of a break-down at the roadside.


SEVEL plant


The E-Ducato van and chassis cabs will be built at the SEVEL plant in Ates- sa, alongside diesel models. The bodies will then be shipped to Fiat’s Mirafiori plant in Turin, for the electrical com-


CUSTOMER FOCUSED


ponents to be fitted. While the SEV- EL plant, which is shared with other Stellantis companies, has a capacity of 300,000 vans a year, the Turin site can install up to 8,000 electric drive- lines each year, of which up to 1,000 could be E-Ducato.


Despite being part of Stellantis, Fiat


Urban ranges of up to 146 miles and 230 miles


“


respectively should be possible


will not share the E-Ducato driveline with its former PSA partners in this van generation. They have already committed to using a BD Auto drive- line and the various companies will not come together on a common van until the next generation of E-Ducato. Service intervals are the same as for the diesel van, at two years/30,000- miles. With the savings available from electric drive, improved residual val- ues and a reduction of up to 40% in ser- vice and maintenance costs, Fiat Pro- fessional claims that the E-Ducato will offer a comparable total cost of own- ership to its diesel models after four years, (12,000 miles per year). For companies considering a move to electric drive, the firm has created an app to see if the van suits their re- quirements. Available at profitbyedu- cato.com, the app allows customers to input their operating distances, loads and working patterns. The app can also be used to record actual van use and demonstrate which E-Ducato config- uration would best suit the custom- er’s needs.


MAY 2021 • VANUSER 11


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