German car giant Volkswagen has shocked the industry with the introduction of a cargo e-bike.
The machine, not yet in production, is a response to the world-wide trend to “de-car” cities and get on top of the negative health impacts of air pollution.
“The cargo e-bike is VW’s solution for the mobility challenges of tomorrow,” said Thomas Sedran, Chairman of the company’s Board for Commercial Vehicles.
“We are thinking ahead about sustainable mobility for our customers and for better air quality in our cities.”
The VW cargo e-bike is equipped with a 250-watt crank drive motor combined with an automatic transmission.
It can carry a load of up to 210 kgs (driver included), and is able to handle cargo volumes of up to a half cubic meter.
Another innovation of the three-wheeled machine is its tilt-compensating technology which always keeps the load platform horizontal.
The bike was one of a number of cargo bike innovations revealed at the Commercial Vehicles Fair in Hannover, Germany.
Another was the 4 wheeled cargo e-bike from Netherlands bike manufacturer Gazelle, looking like the B-Double of cargo bikes.
The Gazelle D10 is a cargo e-bike that accommodates up to two standard luggage boxes with Euro Pallet dimensions, a volume of one cubic meter and a load capacity of 100 kgs.
The ‘Light Electrical Freight Transporter’ (LEFT) comes with a 250W Bosch motor and is intended for parcel transportation.
Gazelle presented the D10 as its “solution for smart, fast, green and cost-efficient ‘last-mile’ transport for inner city areas aiming to make cities cleaner, safer, better accessible and more sustainable.”
Gazelle will start a pilot soon in Amsterdam in collaboration with the Dutch postal service PostNL. The D10 is expected to make its market entry next year.
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