The first made-in-Wales zero emission electric commercial van from Stevens Vehicles – that does the equivalent of 250 miles to the gallon – rolls off the production line this summer. Stevens Vehicles, a new business which will be producing an electric car as well as a van, was supported by the Welsh Assembly Government to set up production in Wales. The business has its production headquarters in Port Talbot and anticipates their Zevan (Ze standing for zero emission) will generate considerable attention when it goes on the market – particularly with the present price of fuel.
The Zevan and the Zecar share the same platform and will have a top speed of 56 mph, a 50 mile maximum range and cost under 2p a mile to run. They will be clean and green with zero emissions – no toxins, pollutants, particulates, carbon derivatives or greenhouses gases. There is also no road tax. The vehicles have been designed and developed by Professor Tony Stevens and now his son Peter, a former city banker, has set up the new company, Stevens Vehicles Ltd, to manufacture the vehicles for the UK market in Wales. The move to Wales has been welcomed by Ieuan Wyn Jones, Minister for the Economy and Transport, who said the development of alternative fuels for vehicles has been championed and supported by the Assembly Government and the automotive sector in Wales for a number of years.
“The Assembly Government has been actively supporting the automotive sector in the development of niche vehicles and alternative fuels and supply chains. The zero emissions from these new vehicles support the Assembly Government’s clean energy policy and we welcome the investment by innovative businesses like Stevens Vehicles.”
Both vehicles are designed to maximise internal space relative to the external dimensions- so although they are shorter and narrower than most compact vehicles they are taller thereby creating the equivalent space of a much larger vehicle. The van has a square side load bay large enough to take standard pallets and wide doors for easy loading and unloading. The Tardis like design provides an attractive package for local small delivery and servicing uses.
The first van produced by Stevens Vehicles – made prior to their move to Wales- has just been sold to a small business in London where the benefits of using electric vehicles include free parking across central London and no congestion charge. The Zevan prototypes were launched at the Commercial Vehicle Show at the NEC in April this year and generated considerable interest. The company now hopes to convert these leads into sales as the first vehicles roll off the production line this summer.
Stevens Vehicles is being supported by the Assembly Governments Accelerate Clusters programme which is geared to strengthen the auto sector in Wales by developing emerging technologies and identifying and exploiting niche markets. Peter Stevens said the support and motivation of the Accelerate Clusters team had been invaluable. Our base in ECM is spot on the facility was created by the Assembly Government to help new businesses and we have everything we need on the doorstep.
“All the support and infrastructure is there including security and office support. It has a machine shop on site which means we can make any modifications easily while other companies on ECM have complimentary skills that can be a real asset.”
He said the design and development work was carried out by his father from a workshop in Kent and their dream was to go into production and manufacturing.
“I chose Wales as the base for production and manufacture because of the help, support and enthusiasm we found here and are now taking that dream forward. It is very hard to set up a car manufacturing plant it’s not just the question of raising the finance it’s about getting the right support and the Assembly Government has been hugely helpful.”
The electric vehicle sector is a niche market and Stevens Vehicles believe they are getting in at the right time. The growing environmental pressure to reduce emissions coupled with the rising cost of fuel makes it an attractive proposition as the Zevans and Zecars can be charged overnight from any standard 13amp electric socket. The Zevans are quite distinctive and can be used by commercial operators as a marketing tool to promote their environmental credentials and ideal for local urban deliveries. Stevens Vehicles have deliberately avoided the mass market route and are currently able to produce one vehicle a day with the ability to scale up to 1000 models a year and working with Accelerate Clusters to develop a local supply chain. The Zecars – family sized vehicles capable of carrying five adults in comfort should be in production by the end of the summer.
Prof Tony Stevens has a lifetime of experience in the motor industry and was chief designer for the Rootes Group and responsible for the Hillman Hunter which sold two million vehicles over more than twenty years. He also designed and showcased the 90mph, 90 mpg Steven Cipher roadster at the 1980 Motor Show. Prof Stevens’ design for the Zevan and Zecar was originally focussed on low cost for developing nations, the cost discipline made it economically and commercially viable to manufacture in the UK for niche markets.
Apart from greenhouse gases, manufacturing a modern vehicle creates toxins and the more complex a vehicle, the more processed its parts and materials, the more toxic its manufacture.The Toyota Prius is 74th out of 86 on a green list of cars when its full environmental impact is calculated.This can be reduced substantially by using less materials “less weight” in each vehicle, simpler materials and extending the life of parts and vehicles through re-using components across many vehicles and using them for longer.
Zevan which has a twenty year life emits 60% less toxins in its manufacture and lifetime than the best 2006 cars from major manufacturers, it is half as heavy and had half as many parts with the majority of those parts already developed, tried and tested in other vehicles.The automotive industry is a key sector for Wales employing 25,000 people, generating over £3billion annually with forty of the top 100 global leaders having an operation in Wales.
The Accelerate Clusters Programme is an ERDF match funded initiative that concentrates on the establishment and development of emerging technologies as well as the identification and exploitation of niche markets in the Automotive Sector and beyond. As a part of the Accelerate Clusters Programme, the Alternative Fuels and Powertrain Cluster (which incorporates the Hydrogen Valley brand) is geared to push forward the various technologies associated with reduction of emissions from vehicles. This has been done by working with indigenous companies and by providing expert technical support to International Business Wales (the export and inward investment division of the Welsh Assembly Government) in order that Wales attracts high quality businesses that may fill technology gaps. The Accelerate Clusters Programme has an awareness of carbon reduction across ALL of its cluster themes and not just alt fuels.
