DAF CF Electric for Tinie Manders Transport

Jos Habets, Director Operations and member of the Board of Management at DAF Trucks, handed over the key of the CF Electric to the management team of Manders Transport. The 83-year-old family business, based in the Brabant region of the Netherlands, is currently under the leadership of the 3rd generation. The truck joins the company's 50 tractors large fleet.

Electric trucks for urban areas

"It is clear that the transport sector is on the cusp of a major transformation", says Jos Habets. "The electric truck is set to become the norm in more and more urban areas in future. I am extremely proud that we are now in a position to broaden our experience with electric trucks in collaboration with Tinie Manders Transport. The data that we collect about both the technology and the operational deployment will feed into the specifications for the final production models, thus ensuring that they fit seamlessly with the requirements of the market."

Zero emissions

"We are very proud to be one of the first to drive this pioneering DAF", states Eveline Manders. "We have been involved in its development from the outset and we are, of course, curious to see the results in practice. Our decision as to whether to expand the range of electric vehicles within our company will be based not only on the zero emissions factor, but also on the ease of use and the additional possibilities that this truck offers us. Zero emissions combined with the minimal noise levels of the truck mean that we can also meet the increasingly stringent legal requirements for inner city transport, thereby enabling us to set ourselves apart from the competition."

Important step

Willem van der Leegte, President and CEO of VDL Groep, had the following to add: "Tinie Manders, DAF Trucks and VDL all boast a strong foundation, a thorough approach and top-quality innovation. It is truly wonderful to see three companies from the Brabant region come together in this way to test the DAF CF Electric featuring VDL E-Power in practice. Tinie Manders had the confidence to stick its neck out, getting in contact straight away to express interest in participating in the testing phase for this development project. As a result, the family business has played an important role in the creation of this innovative vehicle, which offers the world progress in terms of achieving sustainability in goods transport."

Collaboration

Tinie Manders Transport will combine the fully electric truck with a fully electric refrigerated trailer. This unique combination made the Geldrop-based transporter eligible for the Dutch DKTI subsidy for sustainable transport. This DKTI project not only involves DAF, VDL Groep and Tinie Manders Transport, but also DHL, TNO, Allego, THT New Cool and the municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo. Allego provides a public charging solution in Geldrop, the municipality is involved in the implementation of the charging infrastructure and THT New Cool is supplying two electrically cooled, zero-emissions trailers, in which energy is recovered during braking. Finally, TNO will examine the results achieved by the electric truck/trailer combination and assess whether more regional transport could be carried out using fully electric vehicles.

About the DAF CF Electric

The DAF CF Electric is a 4x2 truck unit developed for road haulage of up to 37 tonnes in urban areas, for which single-axle or dual-axle trailers are the norm. The vehicle is based on the DAF CF—named 'International Truck of the Year 2018'—and is operated fully electrically using VDL's E-Power Technology. The core of this intelligent powertrain is a 210-kW electric motor powered by a lithium-ion battery pack with a current total capacity of 144 kWh. The CF Electric has a range of approximately 100 kilometres, depending on the weight of its cargo, making it suitable for high-volume transport in the urban distribution market. The batteries have a 30-minute quick-charge feature and a full charge takes just one and a half hours.

DAF CF Electric — Technical specifications

• Truck weight 9,700 kg
• Electric motor 210 kW
• Torque 2,000 Nm
• Battery capacity 170 kWh
• Range of fully charged vehicle up to 100 km
• Battery quick-charge 30 minutes Full charge 1.5 hours