JAC Motors South Africa confirmed AEVERSA’s production order for its N55 EV battery-electric truck almost a year ago; a dream come true for Rick Franz, CEO and founding member of the company.
AEVERSA (Applied Electric Vehicle Energy Reticulation Systems Africa) aims to accelerate the transition of conventional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) transport fleets into electric-powered fleets. When the change from ICE trucks to battery-electric trucks is made, massive savings on energy and transportation costs are accomplished.
The company’s product offering includes setting up ecosystems at offices and warehouses with solar power, battery banks and DC Fast Chargers. Its product offering includes selling and financing battery-electric vehicles and consists of a state-of-the-art Management system that provides real-time information on ECV (Electric Commercial Vehicle) fleets.
“AEVERSA is a turnkey operation. We advise the industry on ECV options, the efficient deployment of precision infrastructure and back-end support required to charge and manage electric vehicle fleets,” says Franz.
After extensive research, AEVERSA decided to approach JAC Motors early in 2021 to import the all-new N55 EV launched globally at the end of 2020. Soon afterwards, the production order was expedited, and the company’s new N55 EV arrived in Durban in late June.
To fast-track its new battery-electric truck’s launch, AEVERSA installed infrastructure including a DC Fast Charging station, solar panels and monitoring software at Palletmen, a sister’s company, whilst the truck was sent to a bodybuilder to be fitted with a customised flat load bed.
Within weeks, the N55 EV was in daily use in an existing transport fleet operation, travelling thousands of kilometres per week, collecting and delivering pallets across Johannesburg, allowing AEVERSA to gather valuable information regarding operating cost-efficiencies.
“Although we knew that battery-electric trucks are extremely energy efficient, we were astounded about the savings on energy and transportation cost, as we could directly compare the N55 EV’s performance to the other ICE trucks in our transport fleet,” says Franz.
The N55 EV was demonstrated to transport operators between pallet deliveries, showing the benefits of transitioning conventional ICE fleets into battery-electric fleets. A diverse group of transport operators showed significant interest in AEVERSA’s pioneering initiatives, including Takealot, ESKOM, Adcock Ingram, DHL, Aramex and Lactalis, to name but a few.
A leading bakery group recently took delivery of its first N55 EV and is testing and comparing its performance to the conventional ICE trucks in its fleet. A powerful 96.77 kWh capacity LFP battery powers the bakery’s new N55 EV. When a standard European CCS2-Combo connection is used, the battery recharges to 80 per cent capacity in only one hour and 100 per cent in one-and-a-half hours. It reaches 200 to 240 km per charge when 20% State of Charge (SoC) is treated as empty.
“The N55 EV is an emission-free truck suitable for a range of last-mile delivery operations. It provides a reliable, economical and safe solution to transport operators. Compared to conventional ICE trucks, the N55 EV has a 70 per cent lower maintenance cost and achieves a 40 to 60 per cent lower fuel/energy cost when charged from our ecosystem infrastructure,” adds Franz.
AEVERSA is awaiting more ECVs shortly, including a panel van and a motorbike which will be used in existing fleet operations to collect comparative data. These vehicles will be marketed to delivery companies, a market that has shown tremendous growth since the advent of Covid-19.
“We believe that the cost of fuel and the increased maintenance cost of traditional ICE vehicles will be an additional burden on companies soon. Unstable global trade and the inevitable rise in fossil fuel prices will further increase transport costs, making AEVERSA’s product solutions particularly relevant in modern-day transport,” concludes Franz.