Bedeo, a British electric vehicle provider, announced Wednesday the launch of a service aimed at transforming numerous diesel vans into electric hybrids. The service is launching in France, capitalizing on government incentives designed to encourage the conversion of traditional fossil-fuel vehicles.
France offers a generous €9,000 ($9,509) subsidy available to support electric vehicle retrofits, under the condition that each converted vehicle successfully pass a government-mandated vehicle assessment.
The conversion of conventional fuel vehicles into electric ones is an expanding sector, with France leading the way by offering a comprehensive regulatory framework and financial incentives not yet matched by other countries.
Bedeo offers a basic kit priced at €30,000, featuring a 37-kilowatt hour battery and Protean Electric in-wheel motors.
The stand-alone motors are integrated into either some or all of the wheels of an electric vehicle, eliminating the need for axles or powertrains.
The included plug-in battery grants a range of up to 120 kilometers (approximately 75 miles), which, according to Bedeo CEO Osman Boyner, should suffice for approximately 95% of typical delivery routes before reverting to conventional diesel range.
Bedeo is aiming to initially convert 20,000 vans annually. Boyner noted that their primary customer base is likely to consist of smaller fleets of vans, especially those with costly additions like refrigerated units, who may find traditional expensive electric models financially challenging to acquire.
"What we are seeing more and more is that who is going to be left behind in this transition is the smaller fleets," said CEO Osman Boyner. "The guy who owns five vans, what does he do?"
Bodeo will set up a manufacturing facility in France, converting diesel vans and is currently looking at production options.
Bodeo also builds electric powertrains for vans for world No. 3 automaker Stellantis (NYSE:STLA).