Long itineraries. Shorter distances. Urban areas. Highways and hilly terrain. The DAF LF Electric has once again proven its suitability in the almost 2,000-kilometre EV Rally 2023. DAF Trucks successfully participated in this 5-day tour through the United Kingdom and Ireland together with Cenex, a technology organization for research into sustainable transport from the United Kingdom.
The EV Rally started in Cardiff. The first stop was London, followed by Edinburgh (Scotland) and Belfast (Northern Ireland). The finish was in the Irish capital Dublin.
The event was designed to showcase the capabilities of electric vehicles. The rally organization also wanted to emphasize the importance of public charging infrastructure being made available for larger electric vehicles that have a range of up to 500 kilometers on a single charge.
The 19-ton DAF LF Electric of the DAF-Cenex team is part of the Battery Electric Truck Trial (BETT). This is an 18-month study by the British government into the applicability of EVs in everyday use. The BETT fleet consists of 20 DAF LF Electric vehicles.
“This event proved the outstanding uptime of our electric truck,” said Adam Bennett, EV & Sustainability Manager at DAF Trucks UK. “DAF is ready for emission-free transport. The event highlighted the clear need for dedicated charging infrastructure for larger vehicles across Europe. Small adjustments to existing car charging points would be a good first step in improving truck charging capabilities.”
“But a dedicated truck charging infrastructure is needed to motivate transporters to invest in EV trucks. We have shown that our trucks are ready. Now is the time for governments across Europe to accelerate the rollout of charging infrastructure.”