UK-based ELM Mobility has secured investment from global bank Barclays for the next development stage of its last-mile electric quadricycle.
A joint venture between British automotive companies Prodrive and Astheimer Design, ELM Mobility says its EVOLV vehicle can match the cubic load capacity of a small delivery van while being half as heavy.
Its recent investment from Barclays will be used to mature the L7e category vehicle and create 10 vehicles for engineering and client testing before production begins in 2028.
“The last mile continues to be a great pain point for the industry. ELM’s engagement with the market has highlighted a dissatisfaction with the current state of the art,” ELM Mobility CEO Iain Roche told Zag Daily.
“Whilst smaller, lightweight vehicles are desirable, they’ve typically come with significant downsides in robustness, safety and compromises in load capacity. ELM believes that by combining great design with robust engineering we have solved these issues and have created a real purpose-built last mile delivery vehicle. We hope this will help give the market confidence that it can be done, opening up robust, low cost, low impact last-mile delivery.”
Barclay’s Head of Principal Structuring and Investments Steven Poulter said that the EVOLV vehicle fills a gap in the market as a lightweight vehicle that can carry a Euro pallet – the most widely-used exchange pallet in the world.
ELM Mobility’s vehicle matches this with a 4m3 capacity to carry a 1.6 metre pallet. A low loading height is designed for easy loading and unloading, and to create a stable driving experience regardless of whether a Euro pallet is being used.
“It is highly desirable to use as small a van as possible for urban last mile delivery,” Iain said. “This is the case for both operational ease – for better parking and to be more nimble around congested cities – and for energy efficiency and carbon reduction.
“However, when pallets are required to be moved, many logistics companies have to use a sprinter sized van to enable delivery. ELM has created a vehicle with a 42% smaller footprint than a compact van that’s able to carry a pallet and have easy access to all of its load volume.”
During the client testing phase starting, the company will collaborate with logistics companies and fleet managers to understand how the vehicle can solve their operational needs. It aims to receive feedback on the entire lifecycle of the product, and specifically how the vehicle is used and maintained so that it can be designed to be as operationally straightforward as possible.
“We know how important it is to get this critical feedback ahead of freezing the final design so that the vehicle delivers for operators, fleet managers and drivers alike.”
The company aims to produce 10,000 vehicles each year once production starts in 2028.
