A range of all-electric three-wheeled vehicles designed to cover last mile delivery will be available in Australia from next quarter, thanks to an agreement signed on Thursday by Brisbane-based e-Motion Concepts.
A zero emissions alternative to fossil-fuelled courier motorcycles and cargo vans, the two electric mopeds made by Chinese RAP-SEV (otherwise known as Zhejiang RAP Intelligent Vehicle Co Ltd) will be imported, sold and serviced by e-Motion Concepts (eMC) under an exclusive deal.
The CT-Kargo and CT-Kube, as they will be known in Australia, will form a key part of “last mile” solutions offered by eMC, and will debut at the upcoming Noosa Electric Vehicle Expo in late June.
The 1 metre wide CT-Kargo features a 1.4m2 box neatly positioned on the back of the vehicle that is designed as a logistics solution for industries such as fresh food and medicine, while the smaller CT-Kube at only 80cm wide can also be used for cold goods deliveries but is also ideal, says RAP-SEV for other items such as mail and flowers.
Founder and CTO of eMC Wolfgang Roffmann said in a note by email that, “The CT-KARGO and the CT-KUBE are perfectly suited to urban transport solutions.
“Known as the ‘first and last mile’, the RAP Smart Electric Vehicles are designed to have a low environmental impact and a smaller footprint than traditional petrol vehicles, making transport movement more efficient, and also less impactful on the city environment.”
Newly appointed CEO of eMC Harry Proskefalas said in a note by email that, “Our strategy has a strong emphasis on aligning with commercial operators including local and national courier providers, food and goods delivery, universities and local governments in delivering long-term sustainable solutions.
“The future of logistics and transport is, high efficiency and clean energy with smart technology, and these RAP Smart Electric Vehicles provide the solutions.
“Companies are needing to change to support sustainable strategies with reduced maintenance and running costs.”
The two vehicles are currently being homologated and eMC hopes they will be ready for the Australian market within the third quarter of 2019.
CEO of RAP-SEV Peter Wang added that, “Australia is a very promising market, we will work together with e-Motion Concepts to support their strategy to introduce the vehicles across Australia.”
With a load of features more commonly found in passenger vehicles such as reversing cameras and radar, bluetooth connectivity and LED instrument screen, both vehicles have a range of 100km and can drive at speeds of up to 50km/hr (although their top speed may be limited pending homologation).
The CT-Kargo also has an interesting optional extra – on request, buyers can opt for solar panels to be added on top of the cargo box.
“On the base unit it won’t come as standard, but if customers do want solar there is a dedicated space there [to add them and] improve efficiency, allowing for top up energy – effectively extending the range with 200 watts of solar panels,” Proskefalas tells The Driven.
The vehicles also come with a “Telematics-Box” that allows the mopeds’ location, battery status and health to be monitored remotely via a smart app.
“Our vehicles have been designed to meet strict European compliance standards and our factory is equipped to support large volumes of production with paramount focus on quality control and after sales service,” says Wang.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with RAP-SEV. The two vehicles are novel products that provide a solution to the ever-growing challenges urban transport and deliveries have to address, whilst being innovative, efficient, electric and safe and packed with features, such as GPS tracking and remote fleet management,” says Roffman.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.