EVOLV - the Last Mile EV Offering a Small Footprint but big Capacity - ELM Mobility's co-CEO Iain Roche

ELM Mobility is a new UK-based joint venture (JV) set up by Prodrive Advanced Technology and Astheimer Design. It's aim is to design, engineer and manufacture last mile electric vehicles (EVs).

The JV recently unveiled EVOLV, a compact ‘last mile’ electric quadricycle demonstrator.

Iain Roche, CEO, Prodrive Advanced Technology and co-CEO, ELM Mobility, has been talking to Auto Futures.

“Legislation and consumer purchasing habits are putting significant pressure on logistics and delivery companies, especially in the ‘last mile’. Clean air zones are being created to combat pollution, climate change and congestion. Meanwhile, online sales now make up 37.8 per cent of all retail. Yet, in the last-mile delivery sector there is a lack of credible solutions. Operators are either misusing diesel or small electric vans, or using golf-cart-derived small vehicles that aren’t fit for purpose" says Roche.

“This highlighted a gap in the market and led to our vision of creating a ground-up, fit-for-purpose, lightweight delivery platform that is capable of carrying a Euro pallet. The result is EVOLV, an all-new compact and highly efficient last-mile electric quadricycle demonstrator with a cubic load capacity rivalling mid-size vans."

ELM Mobility aims to put EVOLV into production in the UK by 2028.

“We swiftly identified where EVOLV could make a difference for fleet operators and that was to focus on developing a compact, efficient and capable vehicle that can carry a full height 1.6m Euro pallet while having an overall load capacity to rival mid-size vans," he says.

EVOLV has half the weight of a compact van with a similar load volume. This makes it the most efficient vehicle in this class, both in terms of cost and energy consumption per unit volume of goods per mile.

“There’s also the option of a stowable pallet truck that can carry up to 300kg. Pallets are often unloaded at retail outlets where there are no forklift facilities, so the stowable pallet truck ensures EVOLV’s operators can singlehandedly and efficiently deliver the goods to the door.”

Changing The Game

The EVOLV demonstrator showcases its architecture, and it is fully representative of its size and features. It will now be used to progress discussions with stakeholders and potential customers in logistics, retailing and food deliveries.

In a press release announcing the demonstrator, Carsten Astheimer, founder and creative director, Astheimer Design, stated: “Everything about the design of EVOLV is fit-for-purpose. It’s lightweight, robust and simple, which fits harmoniously with the Astheimer Design philosophy of removing everything superfluous. The result is iconic in its simplicity, with the platform adaptable to the individual needs of each customer.”

One of the EVOLV's most noticeable features is a central driving position.

“The majority of inner-city delivery routes are served by a single person. The central driver seat offers easy access from either side, with a wraparound windscreen providing better visibility of pedestrians and cyclists. It also streamlines the number of variants for the UK and European markets," explains Roche.

“The interior has been designed around driver ergonomics, offering a comfortable work environment with an intuitive user interface that supports an easy transition from one driver to the next,” he adds.

As well as design, safety is a priority for ELM Mobility.

“We took the decision to change the game in the L7e sector by engineering EVOLV to meet N1 (small van) passive safety crash standards. This spans front, side and roof crash performance, pedestrian impact and driver safety requirements. During the research phase we found that users of smaller golf-cart-derived vehicles perceived them to be less safe, so the passive crash safety strategy with EVOLV aims to combat this.”

Decarbonising Transport

Roche believes more can be done to promote zero-emissions vehicles in the UK.

“There needs to be clarity on policy and direction for the UK, as pushing the ICE ban back to 2030 has damaged confidence and investment in the industry. The incentives on transitioning to zero emissions vehicles has proved successful in moving the scale across the Nordics, so it can be achieved."

“Standards need to be driven by the UK in terms of safety, with dedicated lanes for courier bikes, and rules on L6e/L7e in pedestrian zones and so on. There also needs to be a holistic approach to decarbonising transport overall; the last-mile sector is just that - a sector within a much larger ecosystem,” he adds.

Finally, we asked Roche what last-mile delivery will be like by 2030,

“Distribution models will evolve to cater towards low emission city-centre infrastructures, such as micro distribution hubs dotted around city spaces, and there will be an increase in pedestrian-focussed urban centres. The urban last mile will be dominated by a mix of micromobility vehicles, mainly courier bikes and purpose built L7e vehicles, with 2.5t vans playing a declining role."

"The current increase in last-mile delivery requirements, both B2B and B2C, will continue to rise rapidly,” he concludes.