Stellantis Van Offensive: Half Electrified by 2030 - Second Generation Electric Drives

Stellantis-LCV Chief Jean-Philippe Imparato has set a grand goal: no less than market leadership worldwide, and by 2027. It's no wonder the objectives were presented during a 'Commercial Vehicles Ambition Day' at Fiat’s testing grounds in Balocco. A third of the group’s revenue comes from light commercial vehicles, and Imparato wants to simply double that by 2030 compared to the base year 2021. This is to be achieved with six brands under one roof. Each brand has its regional strengths and, globally, they can tap into a network of 20,000 dealers, as Imparato proudly states. For instance, Opel is strong in Germany, Fiat in Italy, Vauxhall in the UK, Peugeot and Citroën traditionally in France, and Dodge in the USA is a big name generating as many units as all other brands combined in Europe. This soon-to-be scenario includes the new, increasingly popular in the USA, Ducato alias ProMaster (3.6-liter gasoline & electric) and four electric pickups, which are indispensable in North America. However, a network alone is not enough.

The doubling should also be accompanied by rapid electrification: by 2030, 40 percent of the portfolio is to be fully electric. This seems almost a bit conservatively planned. Informally, Imparato also admits that he is counting on customers being convinced by the second generation of BEV models, which is now being launched, and that diesel will be a “self-phasing out” model by 2030, or at the latest by 2035. “Love electric,” Imparato enthuses, suggesting that soon almost no one will want a diesel. “Zero Emission” is clearly at the center of the ambitions with six brands going electric, confirms Xavier Peugeot, Vice President of the Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, including a global charging service through the subsidiary Free2Move and charging solutions from dealers.

However, this does not mean that diesel will not be kept "up to date": for example, the Ducato-Boxer-Jumper-Movano will receive a complete powertrain update with the 2.2-liter Alfa diesel engine, complemented by a two-stage exhaust gas cleaning system—and will be “Euro6E-ready” and, thanks to fine-tuning of combustion and aerodynamics, will be nine to fifteen percent more efficient, as Product Chief Luca Marengo promises.

The E-Ducato gets a competitive drive system

More important, however, are the innovations in electric vehicles, which Stellantis explicitly includes the Hydrogen Vans: Here, an update for the Hydrogen compact van and a fuel-cell version of the large vans (Ducato-Jumper-Boxer-Movano) will be introduced in 2024, with a range of 500 kilometers and a 7-kilo hydrogen tank under the floor. However, this package weighs the same as the new BEV variant with a 110 kWh battery. The hydrogen vehicle is seen as particularly useful for users who find refueling time critical – the FCEV van should be refueled in five minutes. Provided one can find an H2 station. And if that station serves the rare green hydrogen at reasonable costs, the hydrogen world in the van segment will be fine.

Imparato is banking on investments in the fueling infrastructure, which France and Germany have announced – and resists the accusation that this is an "expensive adventure." Stellantis wants to be ready with the technology when the environment eventually fits. There are supposed to be 2,500 H2 stations in the EU by 2030, one every 200 kilometers on long-distance routes, according to EU plans. These stations are intended to supply 450,000 light hydrogen commercial vehicles, which ideally will come from the Stellantis group – and not from Renault, the other lone brand betting on H2 in vans.

It's going to be tight for the fuel-cell van

It will be tight for the FCEV van, which builds on the Vivaro Hydrogen's package and combines a compact 45 kW fuel cell (under the seats) with an 11.5 kW battery and a 110 kW electric motor (400 Nm). This is especially true due to the significant advancements being made in the second generation of BEVs. In the case of the completely renewed E-Ducato, this is particularly noticeable: The new E-Van is supposed to achieve a range of 420 kilometers in WLTP, which corresponds to about 24 kWh/100 km, decent for an E-Van of this size. It now only comes with a Lithium-NMC battery – with a hefty 110 kWh gross capacity (around 100 kWh net). This is the lesson learned from the mixed experiences with the first generation, where the small battery was seldom in demand and ran so inefficiently that even with the large battery, the range was poor.

The large battery naturally eats into the payload

This is all to be improved now: The 150 kW synchronous motor on the front axle also offers 410 Nm from standstill, decelerates finely in four levels via steering wheel paddles, so that one can usually dispense with co-braking. Except for the final stop at the traffic light, as unfortunately, there is no one-pedal-drive. And the E-Ducato (Boxer-Jumper-Movano) also crawls forward like an automatic once the foot lifts off the brake pedal. A huge improvement over the rather "improvised" first generation is finally the integration of all infotainment and safety features, which now truly match the modern drive, including standard digital instruments, 10-inch infotainment, electric parking brake, and, of course, keyless start without the "ignition key."

In terms of performance and handling, the aim is to be on par with the current benchmark, the Ford E-Transit. And it is intended to be competitively priced despite the larger battery, as Marengo boldly announces. The new E-Ducato is expected to be up to 15,000 euros cheaper than the admittedly very expensive predecessor. Additionally, the trailer option with up to 2.4 tons of towing capacity is now integrated, which was previously unavailable. This is a good thing, as the payload is on a shrinking course with the massive battery: 700 kilograms are supposed to remain in the 3.5-ton version, which is 600 kilos (the battery weight) less than the diesel version.

Only with 4.25 tons in payload on par

But there is still the option of the 4.25-ton version, which can also be driven with a B license according to special regulations. However, this version is limited to 90 km/h instead of 130 km/h like the 3.5-ton version. By the way, the predecessor was generally limited to 110 km/h. Speaking of highway suitability: With the new electronic architecture, all the driver assistants available for passenger cars are also included. With active lane-keeping, adaptive cruise control, and traffic jam assistant, the large E-Van rolls at Level 2 of automated driving. Additionally, a digital rearview mirror can be ordered, despite the compact dimensions of the Italian perennial favorite.

Retrofit Solution for Older Diesels from Qinomic

If that's perhaps too much of a good thing and the necessary funds for a new E-Van are missing: Stellantis also aims to be helpful through its in-house venture Qinomic, where they want to offer an affordable retrofit for older diesel transporters, then with a smaller battery—a perfect complement, as the officials advertise.

By the way, it gets even harder for the energetically far more inefficient Hydrogen-Ducato when you consider the new charging technology of the E-Duc: At 150 kW in DC mode, the electric van charges from 0 to 80 percent in one hour; half an hour should be enough for 15 to 80 percent. In AC mode, it manages with 11 kW. Unfortunately, the charging flap is still somewhat impractically located in place of the fuel filler. And a heat pump is still missing for now.

City and Compact Vans Still Without the New Efficiency Drive

However, there have been fewer changes to the visually and connectivity-wise heavily facelifted compact vans and city vans from the Stellantis house: The chronically inefficient first-generation electric drive from Vitesco (EMR3) has not been replaced by the brand new corporate drive EMR4, which, despite almost the same battery capacity of 51 kWh, would have been significantly more performant thanks to completely new cell chemistry. This leap is likely still withheld from the "utilitarians." A pity, as with the old 50 kW package, it only manages 330 instead of 285 kilometers of range in the city van. For the midsize van, it’s 224 kilometers; additionally, a 75 kWh variant is still available, which should achieve 350 kilometers (previously 328 km). Probably also due to the fact that an efficient heat pump is standard. In winter, the old version often hopelessly failed as soon as the temperatures dropped. So, in the case of the midsize van, the gap to the hydrogen van is narrowing, with its combined 400-kilometer range.

Digital Update in the Interior, Multistage Regeneration

Charging-wise, it remains at the practical 100 kW DC and 11 kW AC. The performance was fine anyway; that's not a big issue with commercial vehicles. Power: Enough. It also stays at 260 Nm, which are available from the start and continue to bring both E-Vans quickly up to speed. And like the large E-Van, there is now a four-stage regeneration via steering wheel paddles, offering everything from "coasting" to "firm" as needed for different situations. Just remember not to forget the brake during a full stop. Speaking of which: Like the E-Ducato, the electric parking brake is, of course, standard. And, as with the E-Ducato, digital instruments and the new, much sharper corporate infotainment system, as well as wireless smartphone connection and charging or a digital rearview mirror, are now standard, an important update compared to the very outdated predecessors. However, you still have to engage the driving mode with the sluggish slide switch.