Whitbread Paneltex

Paneltex will be unveiling its 7.5-tonne electric truck at Quiet Cities, as part of the outdoor demonstration zone at the second day of the global summit focused on enabling quieter deliveries of freight in urban environments.

Based on a standard Isuzu Forward chassis, the refrigerated box van has a payload of 2,440kgs and runs on a 96kw battery pack with lithium ion phosphate batteries with an overall range of 100 miles. The vehicle is best utilised if run from a depot where it is stored and receives a full charge over night and the range is dependant on overall weight, driving style, driving conditions, traffic conditions, terrain and speed.

It will be used on Kuehne + Nagel’s flagship contract with Whitbread, which the 3PL has held since 2008, supplying goods for Whitbread brands including Costa Coffee and Premier Inn.

Running on an assumed 60 miles per day, six days a week at an average of eight mph Panneltex says that the truck will deliver annualised fuel savings of £12,700 – with the unit costing just £6 per day to charge. This, it says, is equivalent to 21 tonnes of Co2 saved per year.

The truck is 3.2m in height, 2.24m wide and has an unladen weight of 5,060kgs. The Magtec P 144 motor and P 146 motor controller, incorporating a fixed ratio gearbox, delivers 2,380Nm of peak torque. Breaking comes via the original ABS and regenerative breaking, which puts the energy retrieved from slowing the vehicle back into the traction batteries, helping to increase the range.

Refrigeration comes via a Thermo King V500 electric refrigeration unit and the vehicle comes with a remote diagnostic system allowing faults to be diagnosed by Panletex.

Delegate booking is now open. Visit QuietCities.com to book at our early bird rate.