New LEVC VN5 Electric Van Trialled by Glendale

Here at Glendale, we’re always striving to be more sustainable, we’re a green company with green values.

We’re constantly thinking about our goal of being completely carbon neutral and we’ve once again made some steps towards this goal.

We trialled a new breed of electric commercial vehicle, the LEVC VN5, on our contracts in South Shields and Lewisham. We were extremely excited to test this vehicle after hearing about it – LEVC rocketed into the electric car industry with their TX taxi, so we were keen to learn what they had designed to be a light commercial vehicle.

The VN5 harnesses a unique eCity technology, eliminating the stress of not being able to complete a long journey without running out of charge. Other features of the VN5 include a regenerative braking system, a market-leading 10.1m turning circle, an easily accessible and large cargo compartment, and geo-fencing capabilities. It also showcases three drive modes which include PURE EV, which operates purely on battery power, SAVE, which uses the range-extender to preserve the battery’s charge for later use, and SMART which automatically selects between power sources to deliver maximum efficiency.

A couple of our Glendale team members got to try the new VN5 out and here’s what they had to say about it:

South Shields:

“Easy to drive, fully automatic but no SAT NAV. I have been running about in it and haven’t charged it yet, averaging about 60 miles a day mixed runs. Nice size in the rear and I like the two loading doors. A bit long for parking but a good turning circle for in cems and parks easy to spin around in narrow streets but physically big in traffic. Will be good for strimmers and hand machines and dumping bags of waste etc.”

Lewisham:

“LEVC City van was of a very good size that it could comfortably accommodate pedestrian machinery, 4 full bags of green waste and hand tools. The model on the demo had an air vent in the load area which made the transport of fuel in the closed-in vehicle safer. The cab was very comfortable for the driver with air-con, and various driver aids, and it was very easy to switch between electric and range extender mode. Turning circle of just over 10mtrs, much tighter than any equivalent size vehicle, which made it very manoeuvrable.

I drove to Acacia Groundcare with 9 miles of electric charge left in the vehicle, I changed the driving mode to the range extender and completed a 120-mile round trip and arrived back at my destination with 6 miles of electric charge still available.

The charging of the vehicle was very quick it was plugged in for an afternoon and was charged by the morning on a 3-pin charger cable (I think this was not a standard charging cable supplied with the van). Overall, a very good experience of this vehicle.”

As you can see, the Glendale teams’ thoughts regarding the van were extremely positive! The VN5 looks to be a possible addition to the Glendale fleet, it boasts an aluminium construction, which is a lot stronger than steel as well as a range of driver-focused features such as lane departure warnings and road sign information. The VN5 certainly represents modern times state-of-the-art technology and shows that you don’t have to compromise on performance when switching from diesel/petrol to electric.

As the world turns more and more to electric, here at Glendale, we want to be leading the way in sustainability in the grounds maintenance industry. We’ve set the benchmark for the expert services we provide; we’re looking to do the same with how green our company is and what we’re doing for the environment.

If you’re looking to hire a green company for your green requirements, Glendale is here and waiting to take your call. Whether you’re looking for an ongoing grounds maintenance contract, commercial landscaping or if you want to prepare for winter with our gritting services and snow clearance services. Whatever you need, just speak to a member of our team and we’d be more than happy to support you.