A delivery van with swappable batteries, the new proposal from this brand

Electric mobility keeps advancing, and there are many proposals that want to make this a reality as soon as possible. Honda has just presented a last-mile delivery van with a very special feature. It is a variant of the Honda N-Van, which was unveiled a few weeks ago. This vehicle has an electric drivetrain, but the manufacturer has gone a little further and presented a new version.

The Honda MEV-Van uses exactly the same electric motor, but it has a feature that until now we had only seen in electric scooters and microcars. Instead of a fixed battery located in the floor of the vehicle, it uses swappable batteries.

These batteries can be removed and replaced with others already charged. Meanwhile, the removed batteries can be charged somewhere else, while the van is used normally. These batteries are Honda Mobile Power Pack e modules, which are also installed in the floor, but can be removed thanks to hatches that give access to them.

This means that this version does not have a charging port, because it does not need one. That said, although the range these batteries will offer has not been announced, it is expected to be lower than that offered by the fixed battery, which allows a 210-kilometre journey on a single charge.

This vehicle is being tested in collaboration with Japan’s largest last-mile delivery company, Yamato Transport. The company will not only use these electric vehicles, but will also use the energy it obtains from solar installations to charge the batteries.

Based on the data collected from the company’s tests, it will be possible to determine whether this option is viable, and whether this type of battery can be relied on for commercial use and to fulfil home delivery service.