All Purpose Transport (APT) is primarily a last-mile delivery provider to blue-headed customers such as Rheem, Solahart, Goodyear, BP, IKEA, Fantastic Furniture and Bunzl. APT’s business model, established in 1975, involves nearly 300 owner-managers who select and purchase their vehicles to perform delivery services on behalf of APT.
Project EV is designed to explore more sustainable delivery methods for last-mile deliveries, as the current fleet all use internal combustion engines (ICE). APT’s current fleet consumes about 60,000 liters of diesel every week, which puts 160 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. There is now proven evidence showing that an increase in the amount of CO2 creates an abundance of greenhouse gases that trap additional heat and cause climate change. As a family business, APT’s founders wanted to explore the business on how to reduce their carbon footprint while maintaining a commercially viable business.
In addition, APT’s vehicles enter residential areas to do approximately 2,500 home deliveries per week, where the vehicles make noise and generate diesel particles where families live. The aim of this project is to provide solutions that are both commercially sound and have a significant positive impact on reducing emissions from delivery activities.
In addition, this project will provide a “roadmap” on how APT can convert its ICE vehicles to electric vehicles while maintaining the integrity of the current owner-driver business model.
It is already clear that within the next ten years there will be a significant shift in the transport industry, especially in the high population areas where small trucks will be battery powered while larger trucks will use a hydrogen fuel cell solution. APT wants to ensure that they stay ahead of their competitors and offer them a cost-effective and sustainable solution by starting the zero-emission transformation early.
SEA Electric Delivery Truck, Converted Hino. Photo courtesy of APT.
APT currently has three electric vehicles – one SEA Electric vehicle, a Hino conversion to electric; one JAC NV55 electric truck supplied by BLK Auto; and one EC11 electric van provided by EV Automotive.
Each of the vehicles has different load capacity and range. “As a rule, we build delivery runs of approximately 160 km to eliminate ‘distance anxiety’. The trucks can transport up to 2 tons and the bakkie about 1.5 tons. At the moment the vehicles start / finish from our depot, so we have to keep them ‘close’. With the implementation of charging options at service stations and shopping centers, we are starting to try to take the vehicles outside their ‘range’ and then use fast charging solutions to support their return to base. ”
This will significantly increase the vehicle range when the fast loading equipment is installed at loading docks and other truck accessible areas (ie not Tesla loading areas to which a large vehicle is difficult to access).
JAC electric delivery truck. Photo courtesy of APT.
“Over the past 3 years we have seen the prices of electric trucks fall. When we first started the program, we paid nearly $ 200,000 for the trucks. This made them almost double the price of their ICE equivalent and certainly caused a ‘shrinking’ effect on the financial manager on capital expenditure.
“We now see that prices are about 30–40% above the diesel equivalent. The big savings are where you get a ‘full’ solution to charge the vehicle – that is, a solar panels, battery and charging solution. The sky-high diesel prices cost a driver about $ 100 a day. In contrast, an EV charge is about $ 15-20 per day. Over the ‘life’ of the vehicle, the savings on fuel costs and maintenance over the diesel engine are significant. The other saving is on tires and brakes, where the ‘regenerative’ brake puts less wear on both tires and brake pads.
“When we initially started our EV journey, there was only one real supplier (SEA). The market is now opening up. However, we have yet to see the traditional OEM operators like Isuzu / Hino / UD Nissan enter the market with a viable solution. The downside to this is that our owner-driver model, where our drivers buy the equipment, means they have strong brand loyalty, so it was a challenge to convince our drivers to buy ‘unknown’ vehicles as they have concerns about warranty and continuous service from a small supplier. ”
EC11 from EV Automotive. Photo courtesy of APT.
“The first remark from the drivers was how quiet the vehicle was and the lack of vibration of the diesel engine. When sitting at traffic lights, the driver is much more aware of their ‘environment’ and it has additional safety benefits. The other remarks include how smoothly the vehicle takes off from the lights, and the lack of gears means the ride is much smoother. The regenerative braking of the vehicles is also quite striking to get up hills and at traffic lights, so the driving style has to be adapted from the ‘traditional’ method.
“Lastly, using the vehicle on highways is a very quick lesson on how to get ‘distance anxiety’, as you can literally see the battery% fail when the vehicle is operating at more than 80 km / h. Keeping the truck off highways was one of the first things our planners had to follow in their route to keep the vehicle with enough power to return.
“Only point to add is that bakkies can be taken home by the drivers in residential areas, so there will have to be some consideration around infrastructure when the electric vehicles all arrive at the house at the same time and all their electrical equipment turn on. The vans / trucks draw a much larger current from the network, so getting the infrastructure at home (3-phase) will be important.
“Because the vehicle is so quiet in its operation, we joked that ‘Mr Whippy’ music should be piped through large loudspeakers so that children are not injured by the vehicle in residential areas. The downside is that they will get flat-pack furniture instead of ice cream. ”
APT recently presented at the Noosa EV Expo and Street Fest.
Exhibited photo courtesy of APT.
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