Every van on the Maxus stand at the 2021 Commercial Vehicle Show is powered by a battery, as the Chinese firm shows off a range of all-electric solutions based on the e Deliver 3 medium van and e Deliver 9 large van, plus a new connectivity system.
This high-tech offering is central to some impressive growth, with Maxus predicting a 400% increase in sales this year – numbers that are perhaps helped by the difficulties involved with selling vans during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 but still a worthy indicator of how improved the products are.
What’s new for Maxus at the 2021 CV Show?
While we’re now quite familiar with the standard e Deliver 3, Maxus displayed a trio of less ordinary versions at the CV Show: a fridge van, a short-wheelbase Dropsider and a high-roof conversion from the Dynamo Motor Company.
The fridge conversion is already available to order, and said to be proving popular with grocery and pharmaceutical delivery services, while the dropside previews the arrival of the long-wheelbase chassis cab variant later in 2021, which is coming to exactly cater for this kind of conversion.
The Dynamo high-roof e Deliver 3 looks smart…
This high-roof conversion is based on the standard short-wheelbase e Deliver 3, intended for use by last-mile delivery services and represents a bit of branching out by Dynamo, which is best known for being a taxi convertor.
It’s done a properly impressive job of grafting on the raised roof and extending the rear doors here – to the point that the Dynamo van looks practically like it came out of the Maxus factory. It’s certainly better looking than the Nissan e-NV200 XL, though that does offer even greater load capacity than the 6.0 cubic metres available from the Dynamo.
The Maxus hits back with a higher 860kg payload, however. Not far short of the 905kg available from the standard van. If you’re relatively tall you still won’t be able to stand fully upright inside, but it will still be much easier to clamber about in than a standard-roof e Deliver 3.
Remarkably, the conversion price is a very reasonable £4,995, while the 52.5kWh battery pack (the larger of the two e Deliver 3 options) is said to still give a driving range of around 150 miles per charge.
What’s the new Maxus connectivity system?
Called Maxus Intelligence Onboard, this has been created in partnership with fleet management and vehicle telematics provider LEVL using Geotab technology.
This combination allows real-time access to battery level (state of charge or SOC), energy used, energy cost and charging data, as well as providing live GPS tracking and possibility of increased driving range through improved driver education.
Already up and running in the UK and Ireland, with plans to expand into European markets, it further cements Maxus’s position as a serious alternative to the mainstream.
How big is the Maxus dealer network now?
Maxus is now up to over 40 dealerships in the UK – 50 if you include authorised service points.
The target is eventually 80 service points – an aim that’s now supported by a new purpose-built UK headquarters in Warrington (that’s in addition to the Irish base of official importers, the Harris Group, rather than a replacement).
Are there any all-new Maxus vans on the way?
A short-wheelbase version of the e Deliver 9 is set to arrive in the UK before the end of 2021, but its 2022 and beyond where things kick-up a further gear.
A new Maxus Intelligent Flexible Architecture (MIFA) platform is undergoing market feasibility testing for the UK and Europe, which would underpin a fully electric seven-seater MPV and perhaps an electric medium van.
The MIFA MPV concept (above) already shown in China is a sharp-looking article, and its looks are backed up by big performance – including dual motors and a claim of 680hp, 900Nm and 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds. Don’t expect any MIFA-based van to be quite that powerful or responsive.
Maxus also has an electric T90 pickup on sale in China, and it’s hoped this will be made available for Europe, too – though we do seem to have been talking about a possible Maxus pickup for years now.
Beyond this, Maxus is hoping to move into heavier commercial vehicles as well, including all-electric trucks which it plans to be trialling in the UK before the end of 2021.
As a final note, given all this electric van news, it’s probably worth pointing out that the diesel-powered Maxus Deliver 9 is still available, and will shortly be offered in longer variants, too.
Also read:
>> 2021 CV Show full report on Parkers
>> Our Maxus e Deliver 3 review
>> The best electric vans you can buy now
