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The B-On Pelkan is by some margin the market's cheapest medium-sized electric van. There are some drawbacks and quirks that go along with that - restricted range, a basic feel and a strange side hatch - but your company might be prepared to accept them to get an EV van that this cheap and this big.
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Background
We're used to seeing all-new car brands these days, but an all-new commercial vehicle marque is more of a rarity. Be-On is exactly that, but draws on established industry experience for the Pelkan, its first van.
This Luxembourg-based company was founded in 2020 by a team of people who'd worked on the Streetscooter electric vehicles used by DHL in Germany and reckoned that, as a result, they had a better handle than the major makers on what commercial operators really needed from an electric van. As a result, they created the Pelkan - though it's more accurate to say that it's a product evolved from an existing one. To fast-track the company's start-up and keep prices down, B-On has based the Pelkan on a Chinese van, the Karry Dolphin. Karry is an Oriental brand owned by the Chery conglomerate - who import Omoda into the UK and share a lot of product development with Jaguar Land Rover.
That's the back story; what about the product? Basically, it's a medium-sized EV van for the cost of a compact one. If that sounds interesting, read on.
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Range data
| Min | Max |
| Length (mm) | 5457 | 5457 |
| Width (mm) | 1850 | 1850 |
| Min | Max |
| Height (mm) | 2027 | 2027 |
| Payload Capacity (l) | 1300 | 1350 |
Driving experience
The basic feel of the Pelkan's cabin is very much mirrored by the basic driving experience it offers. There's no starter button, electronic handbrake, drive modes or regenerative braking options. There isn't even a 'Park' option on the drive selector dial that sits in the centre of the dashboard - just R (reverse), N (neutral) and D (drive). So it's not too much of a surprise to find that there's not much power on offer - just 114bhp and 260Nm of torque from the single electric motor. Still, that's enough for reasonably-sized 1.3-tonne payloads. That motor is used by both the two battery sizes, neither of which deliver particularly competitive EV range figures. The 43 version has a 43.5kWh battery which claims to be able to take this van up to 140 miles. The larger 53.6kWh battery of the 54 model extends that to 173 miles.
Around town, operators will appreciate the wieldy dimensions, aided by the compact width. And the great level of all-round visibility, helped by the large windows and narrow pillars. Plus the short bonnet makes the Pelkan easy to place on the road. And the light steering means it's easy to manoeuvre on city streets. Operators will be less happy with the fact that the indicators don't self-cancel. And the 13.9-metre turning circle is far too large for a van of this size.
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Design and build
B-On's design input into this model really starts and ends with the nose section. Everything from the cabin backwards is borrowed from the Chinese Karry Dolphin van this model is derived from. From the front, you might think this is a compact Kangoo or Berlingo-sized LCV but in profile, it becomes clear that this is a much bigger thing than that; the 5,457mm body length (matched with 2,047mm of height) means it's more similar in size to something from the next class up - the dimensions are close to those of the longer wheelbase L2H1 Ford E-Transit Custom.
The cab really is very basic indeed, though it does get a digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch central touchscreen. It might be difficult to find a comfortable driving position because the steering wheel doesn't go in or out and the seat doesn't adjust for height. And there's not much cabin storage - just a small bin in the door and a little compartment between the seats. B-On says there's a manual handbrake because it results in less wear and tear. But admits there should be door mirror controls. You do get a couple of USB-A sockets below the phone-sized slot provided for your handset. And the centre screen has 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' connectivity for your apps. All the materials used are course of the plain, durable wipe clean kind.
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Market and model
Think in terms of a starting price of around £30,000 excluding VAT for the base 43 model. After deduction of the available Plug-in van grant, that's not much more than you'd pay for a compact electric van of this sort from the mainstream brands. To give you an idea of a closer comparison, similarly sized Ford E-Transit Custom or Maxus eDeliver7 models cost from around £45,000.
The B-On brand is expecting to sell around 3,000 units a year - only initially to fleets. The company aims to establish five distributors to take this LCV to market, along with twenty partner workshops in the UK that will install vehicle systems and take care of authorised repairs. The brand thinks its biggest market will be last-mile delivery customers operating fixed routes with a back-to-depot charging structure.
Standard equipment across the range includes air conditioning, a 10-inch central touchscreen with a DAB digital radio and 'Apple CarPlay'/'Android Auto', a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, steering wheel-mounted controls, a driver's armrest, a full-sized spare wheel and telematics. Unfortunately, only the driver gets an airbag and there's very little in the way of driver assistance tech. You don't get much in the way of dedicated security equipment either; an alarm isn't even an option.
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Practicalities and costs
There's only one body shape offered, but the good news is that it's very spacious - far more so than the compact Kangoo or Berlingo-sized EV van that you'd need much the same sort of money for in EV form. Both the Pelkan 43 and 54 models have a 7.2m3 load volume - better than a Vauxhall Vivaro Electric (6.1m3), but some way off a Ford E-Transit Custom (up to 9.0m3). But that Ford's relatively meagre 1,044kg payload (and the 1,000kg figure of the Vivaro Electric) is easily surpassed by this B-On. The Pelkan 43 can take 1,350kg and the 54 variant 1,300kg. Unfortunately though, towing of any kind is not permitted.
There's a cargo space length of 2,980mm and 1,290mm of width between the wheel arches. The twin rear doors open widely to 270-degrees, but are held in place by flimsy hooks. A bigger potential irritation though, is the opening that replaces the usual side sliding door. It's a hatch-like side shutter door that opens upwards above the roof height of the van and incorporates a smaller second hatch that drops down at the bottom (which needs to be opened up separately). It's all more awkward to use than the usual sliding portal.
The loading bay comes pre-lined (which is good) but has a high floor (which isn't). One nice optional touch is B-On's optional 'Smart Dispenser' system. This motorised rotating shelf set-up is designed to automatically sort packages so that they're ready-picked to unload at their destination. The relevant parcels are delivered by a slot at the side of the van, using a mechanism that's a bit like a chicken rotisserie.
The Pelkan's DC charging speeds are acceptably rapid, compensating for the fairly mediocre range. Fast charging from 30 to 80% takes 35 minutes from a socket located in the front grille. B-On offers agnostic software designed to integrate with fleet management systems and the Pelkan has an integrated battery management set-up providing online performance and efficiency data.
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Summary
You can't imagine many owner drivers wanting a Pelkan - but this B-On isn't aimed at them anyway. Some of the fleets it is aimed at may well like this simple no-frills approach to the design of a medium-sized spacious electric van. They'll note the fact that it costs less than the compact electric vans on sale from some of the mainstream makers in the next class down. And they'll appreciate B-On's useful charge and fleet management tools.
If this Luxembourg brand could have delivered all of this with greater operating range, a less basic-feeling cabin, more driver EV tools and easier side-loading, it would have been even better. Hopefully that's for the future with products the brand fully designs itself. For the present though, if cost is key, this Pelkan's worth a look.
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