Electric vehicle supplier and manufacturer Bedeo has scored two major wins with announcements of a new delivery milestone and latest approval from Stellantis.
The company, formerly known as BD Auto, has now confirmed that its electrified vans have undertaken 60 million kilometres’ worth of deliveries across Europe since 2009 – equivalent to some 37.3 million miles.
And Bedeo now has official approval from Stellantis to offer its Reborn Electric retrofit solutions on the auto giant’s large LCVs (3.5-4.5t).
Founded in 2009, Farnham-based Bedeo offers fully electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV) packages developed and manufactured in-house to OEM production-approved standards. These are powered and underpinned by its owned, proprietary e-solutions, including in-wheel motor (IWM) technology developed by inhouse business Protean Electric, inverters and battery packs.
The business also now offers an advanced retrofit solution that fits to existing diesel vans to make them either fully electric or diesel range extenders using in-wheel motor technology. This is a particular benefit for customers operating vans already fitted with costly (and labour-intensive) rear cargo fitouts, such as refrigerated units, purpose-built delivery and building/trade units.
Dubbed Reborn Electric, the range is available in pure EV form – capable of up to 226 miles WLTP (364km) – and the range extender version. The latter retains the diesel engine and has a 73-mile (117km) electric range with a 373-mile (600km) extended range, enabling fleets to travel in towns and cities on electric-only mode and utilise the original (often Euro 6 standard) diesel engine to drive to and from the out-of-town depots.
Stellantis has now also approved the BE and RE versions, thereby opening the retrofit market to the IWM solution.
Opting for Reborn Electric models can deliver many benefits for fleet owners, including lowering total cost of ownership, a reduction in tailpipe emissions, lowering carbon emissions at a vehicle manufacturing level, plus the ability to retain the original vehicle’s fitout.
Bedeo is used as a preferred partner for over 40 blue-chip customers in logistics, e-commerce and waste management and fleet users include DHL and Ocado.
It also has key partnerships with firms such as Stellantis. It’s been converting and homologating the large-segment LCVs of Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot and Vauxhall / Opel to electric since 2019, and the latest approval means it’s authorised to continue offering fleets electrified retrofit solutions of Stellantis’ large-segment-LCVs under the Reborn Electric offering, in battery electric and range extender variants.
In pure electric form, the BE models can either be fitted with a 37kWh, 75kWh or 110kWh battery, which provides drivers with 73-mile (117km), 154-mile (248km) or 226-mile (364km) WLTP range respectively. The new RE-100 range extender retains the original diesel engine and adds a 37kWh battery to offer its electric and extended range.
Commenting on the latest company milestones, Bedeo CEO Osman Boyner, who founded the company in 2009, said: “Reaching 60 million kilometres is a testament to the reliability and robustness of our in-house manufactured and owned technologies and e-solutions. Our commitment to sustainable mobility drives us to continually innovate and we are now providing practical solutions for fleets and businesses looking to make the transition to hybrid or electric vehicles without needing to replace with a brand-new vehicle. Our clients also benefit from keeping costly, and time intensive installations that they’ve already done, such as refrigeration units or bespoke fit outs, which is a huge bonus when vehicle uptime is so important in last-mile deliveries.”
Bedeo can fit its Reborn Electric solutions to a wide range of large commercial vans including the Citroën Relay (Jumper in Europe), Fiat Ducato, the Peugeot Boxer and Vauxhall / Opel Movano, with the intention to extend the solution to other large vans.
