Trucking into the future

This Ikea-style transporter hopes to change the world, four hours at a time

Somewhere in the near future a small business owner receives a large flat-pack. Inside is an all-electric truck – it may even be a food truck – that will, within hours, stand assembled and quickly become an integral part of the business owner’s everyday life. Or something like that.

British all-electric automotive company Charge hopes to soon introduce its ultra-lightweight electric trucks to roads everywhere.

Says CEO Denis Sverdlov: “At Charge, we are making trucks the way they should be: affordable, elegant, quiet, clean and safe. We are removing all the barriers to entry for electric vehicles by pricing them in line with conventional trucks, giving every fleet manager, tradesman or company, no matter how big or small, the opportunity to change the way they transport goods and make our towns and cities better places to live in.”

Zero-emission travel for up to 160 kilometres is claimed, but the vehicle can manage a further 540-odd kilometres with the assistance of an extended range “dual mode”. Also capable of autonomous travel, Charge will be spun off into various models ranging in size from 3,5 to 26 tons.

The trucks are said to be so simple to assemble that a single person could complete a truck within four hours. Yes, they do say that 10 workers over two shifts can assemble 10 000 trucks a year, but that doesn’t mean that self-assembly units are too far off.

The first Charge factory will be opening near the organisation’s head office in Oxfordshire in the UK later this year, with plans to expand globally soon.