Econ Engineering has secured a contract with Ringway for its revolutionary fully electric-powered E-QCB (Electric Quick Change Body) gritter.
The Yorkshire-based manufacturer of winter maintenance and highways vehicles said the E-QCB is the first ever completely electric vehicle of its kind on the market.
Ringway, which is responsible for more than 50,000km of the UK’s highways network, has a long-term strategic fleet partnership with Econ and is the first contractor to sign a deal for the E-QCB.
Ringway operations manager Dave Olley said: ‘Working with Econ Engineering we trialled the fully electric E-QCB multi-purpose vehicle and are now looking forward to adding it to our fleet and putting it to use on the UK’s road network.’
Econ managing director Jonathan Lupton said: ‘We have spent a long time developing the E-QCB, undertaking comprehensive redesigns and trials across the UK, to ensure that we can offer a fully electric solution for our customers that can be used 52 weeks a year.
‘We are confident the vehicle will continue to impress and that its benefits will soon result in more deals of this kind.’
The E-QCB was put through extensive testing in urban and hilly locations in Edinburgh
The E-QCB 19-tonne Volvo FE Electric comes with a range of demountable body options including gritter, tipper and caged body, which can be switched within just 15 minutes.
It also comes with alternative battery configurations to allow optimisation of range and payload, can be fully charged in less than two hours (subject to infrastructure), runs near-silent with a range of up to 170 miles (depending on load and road conditions), and produces no exhaust gases.
Feedback from a recent E-QCB demonstration tour around the UK included:
North Yorkshire Council: The E-QCB undertook two 40-mile gritting runs and was tested on a cold, snowy day at Sutton Bank, which has a hill gradient of on in 4 and includes tight bends.
A council spokesperson said: ‘The vehicle impressed us especially coping with the hills and had excellent range for an electric vehicle.’
Glasgow City Council: On a 90-mile gritting route in urban Glasgow, carrying an eight-ton non-diminishing payload, it returned with 13% battery life remaining, while a 50-mile gritting route saw it return to the depot with 47% battery usage.
A council spokesperson said: ‘Vehicle exceeded expectations. Excellent build quality; cannot fault the vehicle at all.’
The E-QCB was also used to lay sand across London’s streets in readiness for the King’s carriage as he attended the State Opening of Parliament. It travelled 66 miles in an urban environment and finished with 51% battery charge.
