How Startup 'Chanje' Plans To Make 'Last-Mile' Deliveries Electric
Last-minute delivery vehicles are prime for an electrifying upgrade, and a startup that's kept much of their information locked up has revealed their plans to take over the industry. They'll be mass producing and releasing their initial model, the V8070, this fall.
Updated May 22 2019, 4:34 p.m. ET
Service vehicles aren’t getting as much attention in the electrifying market as consumer options in comparison to big-name companies. However, one of the easiest transitions to running on a battery could be the last-mile delivery service. With limited routes every day, it wouldn’t take much power to get these vehicles around in a single charge. One company has been silently behind the manufacturing of them and are gearing toward mass release already this fall.
Chanje (pronounced “change”) has been the secretive startup behind the new last-mile delivery vehicles. They’ve recently announced the first model, a V8070 electric panel van. It’s expected to hold up to 6,000 pounds of supplies while having a range of 100 miles. That’s more than the average urban delivery route of 70 miles per day.
On the product webpage, Chanje states there will be an average of 70 percent in fuel and maintenance costs. Based on an internal combustion engine, this electric motor would get 50 miles per gallon in comparison. Keeping the vehicle up to date would also cost less because of reduced working parts in comparison to traditional vehicles.
“The future of transportation is zero-emission, we expect commercial electric vehicles to become the norm soon,” Bryan Hansel, CEO of Chanje, said in a company press release. “There is a tremendous opportunity for Chanje because no one else in the marketplace can meet a fleet customer’s demand for delivery of large numbers of high quality, commercial electric vehicles.”
These last-minute delivery vehicles are built from the ground-up instead of redesigned to provide maximum green standards. Another way to reach its zero-emission goal is also providing energy solutions. They’ll work with companies that purchase a fleet of their EVs to create a local infrastructure that’s from 100 percent sustainable sources with battery storage.
Chanje has been working with their co-founders, FDG Electric Vehicles Limited. They’re a Hong Kong-based manufacturer that co-created the vehicles themselves. With their expertise and around $1 billion in investments, they can reach mass production. The company states that a future assembly site will be “near port facilities west of the Mississippi.”
Further variations will be coming in the future, but they will all be geared toward last-mile service companies. These options could include larger models, shuttle buses, and others with varying levels of how much they can hold. According to the press release, the startup is going to “announce a major US service, parts, and distribution partnership that will provide an unparalleled foothold in the domestic market.”
Chanje has clearly been working behind the scenes for a long period of time. They’ve considered multiple facets of the industry, such as charging their fleets, and they’re ready for the spotlight. The V8070 will be available in the last quarter of 2017 and no price has been announced yet.
