Modec was an

electric vehicle An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes ch ...

manufacturer in Coventry, in the United Kingdom, specialising in

Commercial vehicle A commercial vehicle is any type of motor vehicle used for transporting goods or paying passengers. The United States defines a "commercial motor vehicle" as any self-propelled or towed vehicle used on a public highway in interstate commerce to t ...

s in the N2 category. It unveiled its first model in April 2006 and announced its intention to commence series production in March 2007, with the first production vehicles destined for

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British Multinational corporation, multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues an ...

. Following a long-term decline in sales, it entered administration in March 2011, with all remaining assets and intellectual property sold to

Navistar International Navistar, Inc is an American holding company created in 1986 as the successor to International Harvester. Navistar operates as the owner of International-branded trucks and diesel engines. The company also produces buses under the IC Bus ...

History

; 2002 : eMercury project commenced within London Taxis International (a subsidiary of Manganese Bronze Holdings). The project was led by Jevon Thorpe, designer of the

TX1 The LTI TX1 is a Hackney carriage (London "Black cab") introduced by London Taxis International in 1997 and designed to replace the ageing Austin FX4. It was designed by British product designer Kenneth Grange. Most are powered by a diesel en ...

London Taxi. Some development funding received from the Energy Savings Trust (EST), part of the Department of Trade and Industry. ; 2004: Three eMercury prototypes demonstrated - one conventional lead-acid battery powered, one

hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princi ...

utilising a

nickel metal hydride battery Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to r ...

and one utilising a high energy

molten salt battery Molten-salt batteries are a class of battery that uses molten salts as an electrolyte and offers both a high energy density and a high power density. Traditional non-rechargeable thermal batteries can be stored in their solid state at room temper ...

mounted in a removable cassette between the

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...

rails. : Manganese Bronze Holdings announces its decision to focus on its taxi business. The eMercury project bought by Jamie Borwick, former CEO & Chairman of Manganese Bronze, who creates Modec Limited as part of Borwick Group. : Splits with drivetrain supplier Azure Dynamics, in favour of

Zytek Gibson Technology is an automotive and motorsport company based at Repton, Derbyshire, England. It was founded by Bill Gibson as "Zytek Engineering" in 1981. In 1981 Gibson founded the "Zytech Group" with two main divisions: Zytek Automotive, ...

, commences development of production vehicles ; 2006 : Announces partnerships with Lex Logistics for customer service,

GE Commercial Finance GE Commercial Finance was a unit of GE Capital, (one of five major operating divisions of General Electric). Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States, it plays a role in over 35 countries and had assets of over US$335 billion at year ...

for vehicle finance and

battery rental Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power ...

and Axeon Power for battery cassette assemblies containing Zebra battery technology. : Unveils next generation of production intent vehicles at SMMT Commercial Vehicle Show. Fitted with an 85

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bill ...

battery pack, they have a 2-2.5 tonne payload, a governed top speed of 50 mph and a range in excess of 100 miles on a typical urban duty cycle. Maximum

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

of 300 Newton metres is delivered from rest, resulting in lively acceleration. Zebra batteries are used. ; 2007: Coventry production facility officially opened by the Rt Hon

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

MP. : Announcement of that the first vehicles built will be delivered to

for home grocery deliveries. : Other deliveries included

Center Parcs Center Parcs may refer to: * Center Parcs UK and Ireland Center Parcs UK and Ireland (formerly Center Parcs UK) is a short-break holiday company that operates six holiday villages in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, with each cover ...

at their

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park for servicing use,

Accord Accord may refer to: Businesses and products * Honda Accord, a car manufactured by the Honda Motor Company * Accord (cigarette), a brand of Rothmans, Benson & Hedges * Accord (company), a former public services provider in south England * Accord H ...

, Amey, Speedy Hire, Hildon Water,

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

and others. ; 2008: 100th Modec vehicle produced, production at the Coventry plant ramping up according to plan (maximum capacity 5,000 vehicles per annum). : London dealer network expands to six sites; Distributors appointed in the Netherlands and Ireland : UPS has ordered Modec electric vans for its UK and German fleets. Energy costs play a huge part in the potential profitability of package delivery companies like UPS,

DHL DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...

and

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

. ; 2009: Modec is the first electric vehicle in the N2 class to attain European Whole Vehicle Type Approval. Modec has entered into a joint venture with

for North and South America. The Joint venture is named Navistar-Modec EV Alliance. ; 2010: Navistar began deliveries of its eStar electric van manufactured in

Wakarusa, Indiana Wakarusa is a town in Harrison and Olive townships in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The population was 1,758 at the 2010 census. Wakarusa is a small farming and manufacturing community located on Indiana 19 just north of Indiana 119. ...

, under licensed technology from Modec's zero-emissions delivery van.

Closure

Following a long-term decline in sales with a total production of around 400 vehicles, and following the failure of a rescue deal with Navistar, Modec entered administration in March 2011 with debts of over £40m. Navistar subsequently bought the intellectual property rights from administrators Zolfo Cooper. Following the closure of the business and sale of the assets, Liberty Electric Cars hired the entire Modec engineering team and set up a new subsidiary "Liberty E-Tech". After failing in January 2011 to agree a deal with Navistar to buy the brand, in July 2011 Liberty launched a service called "e-Care" to service and maintain Modec vehicles, which presently covers the UK, France, Germany and Dubai.

Technical

The only product of the Modec company was the Modec EV commercial vehicle. It was produced in three versions; a chassis cab, box van and a dropside. All three shared a common wheelbase of and a steel ladder frame chassis. The Modec has a kerb weight of 3.3 tonnes and a max gross capacity of 6.05 tonnes. The vehicles use an motor with of torque and an exchangeable lead-acid battery which is charged from an external charger that requires a 32amp 3-phase supply to charge the vehicle for 6 hours, it also has options for Lithium-Ion Phosphate or Sodium Nickel chloride batteries. It has a range and a top speed.Presentation about Modec vehicles form Paul o'Dowd their Nation Sales manager

References

External links

Modec Limited

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090907024601/http://www.realbusiness.co.uk/myfirstmillion/5497866/lord-jamie-borwick.thtml/ Interview with Lord Jamie Borwick at REAL BUSINESS about Modec
Video
of

Robert Llewellyn Robert Llewellyn (born 10 March 1956) is a British actor, comedian, presenter and writer. He plays the mechanoid Kryten in the sci-fi television sitcom '' Red Dwarf'' and formerly presented the engineering gameshow '' Scrapheap Challenge'' ...

driving the van from

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

as part of an eco-rally {{Automotive industry in the United Kingdom Navistar International Electric trucks Battery electric vehicle manufacturers Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United Kingdom Defunct truck manufacturers of the United Kingdom Coventry motor companies Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2004 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2011

History

Closure

Technical

See also

References

External links