zePLV case studies

Are you interested in electrifying your fleet with  zero emission powered light vehicles (zePLVs)? 

Replacing petrol or diesel vehicles with small electric ones is a great way to reduce transport emissions and save on fuel and maintenance costs. Find out how several small businesses have benefitted by making the switch. 

TradeKart adopted an electric three-wheeled moped into its fleet for its on-demand deliveries in London. 

TradeKart is an online marketplace where tradespeople can order from over 25,000 products and have them deliver to their site in two hours. TradeKart says this saves tradespeople an average of three to four hours per week in travel time to physical stores.  

Why do they use zePLVs?  

TradeKart adopted an electric three-wheeled delivery vehicle into its fleet to fulfil on-demand deliveries in London. They are under a metre wide so can easily navigate traffic and, like motorbikes, can travel in bus lanes in many London boroughs. This enables TradeKart to meet its goal of delivering goods within two hours of an order being made.  

What zePLVs do they use?  

TradeKart use L2e cargo vehicles to enable fast deliveries. The zePLV has lots of room for goods, with 500 litres storage and an extra 100 litres behind the driving seat. The base model covers 60 miles with a standard delivery load (10-15kg) and takes just five hours to fully charge from mains electricity. On overnight tariffs, this full charge costs 54p. The standard charging cable is a 3-pin plug for charging from the mains electricity, but it also comes with an adapter that allows you to plug into residential chargepoints.  

What benefits have zePLVs brought TradeKart? 

TradeKart found that:  

• Drivers could get much closer to delivery sites as the vehicles could be parked in small spaces and could deliver across central London in under two hours.  
• They were able to carry far more goods, both in terms of storage space and weight, than they would have been able to on a bike.  
• They could get closer to achieving B-corp status, by meeting high social and environmental standards.  

Kickstart has added dozens of two wheeled electric mopeds to its fleet for their clients to use for commuting. 

Kickstart Norfolk is a charity that rents its mopeds and scooters to people looking to get back into work after extended periods of unemployment. It also rents to school leavers trying to access further education, and people who are socially isolated in rural areas with little public transport.  

Some clients who join the scheme can use a moped for free with support from the local Breckland Council. The success of Kickstart Norfolk has seen it becoming a national model for Wheels2Work schemes.  

Why do they use zePLVs? 

Kickstart decided that it had to start switching to electric mopeds to meet the proposed 2030 deadline for the end of production of petrol PLVs.  

External funding from Sheringham Shoal offshore windfarm, JP Blanch fund for electric vehicles, and Breckland District Council’s green fund made it possible for Kickstart toadopt electric mopeds.

Each stakeholder wanted to encourage the transition to electric, and this funding helped Kickstart Norfolk buy 21 zePLVs in 2022. 

What zePLVs do they use? 

Kickstart offers an electric moped (L1e-B) for clients to use. They have 2kW of power, a top speed of 28mph and an estimated range of 40 miles. Due to their popularity, Kickstart will adopt around30 electric mopeds every year until their fleet is fully converted to electric.

What have been the benefits of adopting zePLVs? 

Kickstart has reduced it’scarbon emissions and lowered fuel costs for clients by going electric. The below table compares the costs between the electric moped and equivalent petrol moped. All figures are as of 2022 and based on the 32,000 miles travelled.