That blue van up there looks to be an off-the-rack Grumman MT45 stepvan, also sold as a Freightliner MT45, or a Morgan Olson RouteStar, or some confusing combination of those names; it’s a boring, useful delivery van, and I think that’s the whole point. You see, Harbinger is in the business of making electric delivery van chassis, and I think they’re very smart to make them work with one of the most common van bodies available instead of succumbing to the temptation of making something sleek and cool and new looking that will get a lot of attention, but will be expensive and effectively unavailable. Harbinger’s goal is to make medium-duty commercial EV platforms that are “priced for zero acquisition premium,” which I believe simply means that there’s no cost penalty for a company choosing to get an EV delivery vehicle over a combustion one.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s going on this chassis – which appears to be made to be compatible with the same hard mounting points as conventional step-van chassis like the GM P30 or Chevrolet W-series chassis. That seems to be confirmed by Harbinger: Oh, right, I promised a diagram:
As you can see, it’s fundamentally fairly simple: a ladder-frame chassis with up to four 35 kWh battery pack modules (so a maximum of 140 kWh) housed in between the main chassis rails. The electrical system is 800V and uses readily-available 21700 lithium-ion cells, and the battery packs themselves look to be fairly easily removable and replaceable, which I suspect is a factor in the planned 20-year service life for this chassis. It’s leaf-sprung at the rear and has coils and independent double-wishbone suspension up front.
The motor unit is housed at the rear axle and is entirely below the frame rails, allowing for a fully flat floor. The motor unit is integrated with the necessary power electronics and makes 470 horsepower and 13,700 pound-feet of torque, which seems plenty. So, with all this in mind, I think I’m getting a good idea of what Harbinger is: kinda boring. But, in the best possible way. This is exactly what the delivery market needs if its going to move to electrification: something that works with equipment that’s already in place: loading docks, racks and other interior van organizing systems, has driver and operator familiarity, and so on. They’ll look like the same vans as before, and, if Harbinger is able to pull off what they’re claiming, they won’t cost any more than an equivalent gas or diesel van. If you’re not paying attention, you probably won’t even notice the difference, except the vans will be quieter.
This is exactly what this segment needs, not an all-new EV van platform that optimizes everything. Harbinger’s approach allows for quicker transformation of existing fleets, with the biggest change needing to be the addition of charging infrastructure, something that one would hope could be paid for by the offset in fuel costs. Really, this delivery segment is perhaps the best suited to electrification compared to almost anything else: mostly set, pre-defined routes of known distance and mileage that end with the vans back at a central location for recharging. Like school buses, this medium-duty delivery application feels tailor-made for the benefits and limitations of electric vehicles, and once you start thinking about how many gas and diesel-burning vans like these are out there, the scale of the benefit to local air quality and other environmental and resource-use factors is considerable. This is one of those rare times I’m happy to see something boring at an auto show. Good job being dull, Harbinger! HERE–> https://netcareer54.blogspot.com/ Now, all that said, that’s not a big deal. The numbers of RVs out there don’t amount to near as much as many other things- such as local delivery fleets (which this would work for). Vehicles like this delivery van going electric would make a bigger impact- it’s easier to outfit the depots for charging, in town stop/go driving lets you recover energy through regen braking, and you’re usually not doing a few hundred miles in a day. The emissions cut are emissions in neighborhoods and city streets, so the places where people are more densely packed get cleaner. Better to get delivery and other local route trucks moved to EV first. HERE–> https://salaryto.com/ Dogs have a genetic internal brain switch that automatically alerts them to delivery drivers, mailmen and in my youth, the travelling insurance salesman. You can’t get much past them, unless they are constantly bribed with treats. Imagine the embarrassment when your trusted best friend sells you out for a box of Milk Bones and Slim Jims. Also, looking for an internet girlfriend, maybe like 24-yo, and like a sex model or maybe likes taking nude photos? Thanks for the help fellow Autopians! Love you all! One of them has a Triton V10 the headers recently went bad as they do and the cab was filled with exhaust. If that could be avoided it would be fantastic. If they could come with AC standard, the batteries are already being cooled, that would be a major plus. I equate my truck in the summer to being in a toaster oven. On this model where would the ramp be? The batteries go right up the center. It would need a Theiman lift gate. That would suck the battery down as well so that would need to be compensated for. 13,700 lb-ft of torque would be more like kinda undrivably too much. Did you mean 1,370, Jason? Color me skeptical. If the cooling system is sized for the largest battery combination … maybe? But these things should be sized for a near full discharge every day? 250 charge cycles per year and that’s 5,000 over 20 years. The only current affordable technology with that type of cycle life is lithium iron phosphate. This would be perfect for David’s FC170 conversion though.
