U-Build takes delivery of electric Mercedes eSprinter

Sustainable flat-pack building company U-Build has taken delivery of an electric Mercedes eSprinter to visit customers and transport materials.

U-Build purchased its new eSprinter from the Aldershot branch of Rossetts Commercials, which represents the Mercedes-Benz Vans brand in North Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex. The vehicle is powered by a 114 hp electric motor that drives the front wheels, and the 55 kWh high-voltage battery pack is securely mounted beneath the body, so does not impinge on cargo carrying space.

The load volume offered by the L2 (medium length), H2 (high roof) eSprinter’s is key to its appeal. The vehicle offers a cargo area of 11m3, which is identical to its diesel-engined, front-wheel drive stablemate, and half a cubic metre more than its rear-wheel drive equivalent.

Crucially for a new-start business such as U-Build, not only does the eSprinter make environmental sense but it adds up from a financial perspective too. Acquired with the assistance of an £8,000 grant from the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), the new van is proving significantly cheaper to run than its predecessor, thanks to the lower cost of electricity relative to diesel.

The fact that it produces zero tailpipe emissions means the eSprinter is exempt from the London Congestion Charge of £11.50 per day, while U-Build has also ‘future-proofed’ itself against further tightening of the rules relating to the capital’s Ultra Low Emission Zone.

The eSprinter’s four parallel batteries can be restored from 10% to 80% of maximum capacity in a couple of hours, using the 20kW DC fast-charging system supplied as standard. However, U-Build chose the optionally available 80 kW alternative, which does the same job in just 30 minutes.

Company director Nick Newman is currently the van’s sole driver and uses publicly available facilities for recharging. Once Coronavirus restrictions have been lifted, however, the eSprinter will become a pool vehicle so available to colleagues as well, and U-Build will install a 7.4 kW (AC) wall box charger at its base in Hackney Wick, east London.

Nick explained: “As an environmental building specialist U-Build is committed to promoting sustainability and delighted therefore to be acting as an early ambassador for the latest zero-emission technology from Mercedes-Benz.

“I’m using our new eSprinter to travel between customer locations, which are all over London and beyond and will often be carrying timber sections, as well as other materials and tools. The van is the perfect size, just the job in fact, while in terms of range it’s doing exactly as we were promised.”

The eSprinter will travel 95 miles (combined WLTP with 80 km/h speed limiter) on a single charge, which is ample for the majority of urban delivery and last mile applications. It also relies on recuperative energy recovered when decelerating to supplement the batteries’ output.