We drove the brand-new Pelkan electric van launched by B-ON (in cooperation with Chery)
Pelkan is the first B-ON (Be On the road) vehicle, designed together with Chery, with the goal of increasing last-mile productivity. It comes out in two versions, the 43 and 54, which are quite similar. They differ in battery, respectively 43.5 kWh, and 53.6 kWh. We tested the electric vehicle in Northern Italy.
Pelkan is the first B-ON (Be On the road) vehicle, designed together with Chery, with the goal of increasing last-mile productivity. It comes out in two versions, the 43 and 54, which are quite similar. They differ in battery, respectively 43.5 kWh, range 226 km certified through WLTP, payload capacity 1350 kg, cargo volume 7.1 cubic meters. The engine has an output of 101 hp.
The Pelkan 54 mounts a 53.6 kWh battery, payload 1300 kg, 50 kg less and 50 km more range, estimated at 279 km. The electric motor output, in this case, is 115 hp. For the traction batteries, the technology chosen is LFP (lithium iron phosphate), Gotion on the Pelkan 43, CATL on the Pelkan 54. B-On aims to be a simplifier for those who intend to shift to electric mobility, presenting a thorough offering to emphasize our value proposition: +95% operating time, +40% cost/km savings.
Pelkan from B-ON: eyes on the software and telematics sides
Electrifying a commercial fleet also means taking into consideration both charging issues and energy. Base in Switzerland is a team of B-ON developers of the telematics box and fleet management software, B-ON Connect, for vehicle data, battery, usage, etc., with integrated energy supply and charging management system. One shot shop platform, contemplating all useful information, energy sources, grid connection, possible integration of renewables, storage batteries.
There will also be charging management (smart charger), to optimize the best charging times, providing time and percentage of charging (sometimes grid convenient, sometimes storage batteries). The experts at B-ON Energy, in Germany, develop storage batteries. The software can be integrated with other vehicles and energy sources; being open it can be integrated with other fleet management systems (they develop both hardware and software).
Further expansion with Chery
“B-ON was created with the goal of increasing productivity in the last mile. The lineage is the R&D of the German postal service, then DHL, which had designed a vehicle on its own needs,” explains Account Manager Enrico Biundo. “The Pelkan is the first vehicle, the goal is to expand the line-up always with Chery. There is the idea of moving as much of the production as possible to Europe. At the moment, the final assemblies are being done in Spain, such as the side hatch setup, and the adjustments of the software for the European market (for instance, Google Car Play and Android Auto are not used in China)”.
On future developments of the project, “The goal is to work with local importers in every European country, including on the aftermarket side,” adds Enrico Biundo. The added value could in the provision of a real “ecosystem, including the online platform to implement the assets, so vehicles, grid connection and possible renewables, storage consumption, the columns”. The launch markets in Europe are Italy, Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom.
