British electric vehicle manufacturer Tevva has kicked off the first of its 2024 drive event days, with 40 prospective customers enjoying a day at Tevva London in Tilbury driving the only UK-made 7.5t battery-electric truck.

Now the manufacturer is preparing to hold half a dozen more ’try before you buy’ events this year.

The success of its first drive event this year will come as good news to Tevva, following a turbulent few months which saw ElectraMeccanica Vehicles (EMV) pull out of a merger with Tevva in November last year, prompting Tevva to launch a lawsuit against the US company, seeking $75m in damages and an injunction blocking EMV from entering into an alternative merger agreement.

Tevva’s first drive day of 2024 saw its 7.5-tonne truck put through its paces. The vehicle has a range of up to 140 miles (227 kilometres) powered by its 105-kWh battery on a single charge. It is the only battery electric truck of its class in production in the UK today.

Ken Scott, Tevva MD, said: “The future is undeniably electric - despite what you might read in certain sections of the UK press - and that includes trucks. In fact, the decarbonisation of trucking will have a bigger positive impact on air quality and reduced carbon emissions than passenger cars.

“As the only British company making battery-electric trucks today, we’re delighted to launch this ‘try before you buy’ programme, where you can test drive one of our vehicles for yourself. Any forward-thinking fleet decision-maker shouldn’t miss this opportunity. They might be surprised at how smooth the transition from a dirty diesel to a clean electric truck can be,” Scott added.

One of the attendees, Rich Wilkins, Kuehne + Nagel key account manager, said: “Driving the Tevva truck was such an amazing experience. The truck drove so smoothly, quietly, and effortlessly - and the power from the acceleration was sensational.”

The events aim to provide fleet managers, transport managers, operations directors and anyone tasked with decarbonising their commercial vehicle fleets with the opportunity to get behind the wheel of an electric truck. 

The test drive route visits Tilbury Port and Tilbury town, mimicking typical urban delivery routes. Participants will be able to drive or be driven on local roads and experience first-hand the experience of driving an electric truck for the first time.

The event includes an informal knowledge share of the onboard technologies at the Tevva Creation Hub - covering batteries, regen braking, eMotors and a look at the company’s manufacturing facilities.

Tevva is also promising an allocated time to ask questions and meet with experts from Tevva’s product, sales and aftersales, engineering, manufacturing and leadership team.

The next Tevva test-drive event will be held on Thursday 21 March. Interested parties can register here.

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