Morris Commercial unveiled its 2.5-tonne electric JE Van at the Design Museum in London. Due to enter full-production in late 2021, the Worcestershire-based manufacturer says it will use a 60kWh lithium-ion battery, have a range of around 200 miles, and a 1-tonne payload.
Inspired by the original 1948 Morris J-Type van, the new JE will be produced in the UK and features a similar design to its spiritual predecessor. The battery, which can be restored to 80% after a 30 minute fast charge, will be UK-sourced too and gives the van 90kW of power.
The production version will be made out of carbon fibre, unlike the prototype revealed at the event, which uses an aluminium construction.
The company’s founder and CEO Dr Qu Li, stated that the reasoning behind wanting carbon fibre was to make the vehicle “light and spacious”.
Morris Commercial’s engineering leader Tony Frazier, added that “using carbon fibre tooling is cheaper than steel or aluminium equipment when producing our amount of vehicles per year”.
Buyers of the JE van can expect a 2.4m long 5.5m3 loading bay capable of holding two euro pallets, and a price tag of £60,000 when it goes on sale in 2021.
Initially, 1,000 of the JE panel vans will be produced, and Morris Commercial tells CM that there are plans to introduce a JE minibus and pickup, but didn’t specify when this would happen.
“It is a delight to unveil the new Morris JE to the world and for us to show what we have been working so hard to achieve,” Li concluded.
