Here are 10 good electric vans if you need... a good electric van

We’ll ease ourselves in with a name that’s surely familiar to everyone – the Ford Transit. It’s been around since 1965 and now electric propulsion ensures it’ll live long into the future. Available in two heights (medium and high) and three lengths (medium, long and extended), it offers between 9.5 and 15.1 cubic metres of cargo space depending on spec. That's, ooh, 'Plenty', in other words.

Under the skin it gets a 180 or 265bhp electric motor and 68kWh or 89kWh battery options, for a claimed range of up to 249 miles. We’ve spent a fair amount of time behind the wheel and reckon it’s the best driving Transit yet, with its quiet and torquey electric motor a far cry from the diesels of time gone by. Too big for your liking? The smaller e-Transit Custom is worth checking out too.

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Want something a little more chic for tootling around the city? Try the Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo for size. Based on the passenger ID. Buzz that’s got plenty of people talking, from the outside the most noticeable difference is the lack of windows, but inside it gets a fixed partition and the cabin adopts a more durable feel with its plastic dash, rubber floor, extra storage and suchlike.

Naturally, the Cargo’s loadspace is significantly smaller than the e-Transit’s at 3.9 cubic metres, but VW tells us that’s still enough to load two pallets. Under the bodywork it’s identical to the Buzz MPV too, with up to 282bhp and a range of 276 miles of range from its 79kWh battery, while it drives just as neatly as its passenger-ferrying counterpart too. We approve.

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Ah look, it’s the VW ID. Buzz’s Achilles heel. The passenger variant has already blown its German opposite number out of the water (it’s half the price for starters), and the cargo variant looks well placed to follow suit. Like the VW it’s pretty much identical from the outside, panel windows aside, while inside it also gets a fixed partition and slightly more durable cabin materials.

Its real trump card though? The Cargo gets a 4.4-metre cubed cargo volume – that’s an extra half a cubic metre compared to the ID. Buzz Cargo. It comes in two versions, with Kia claiming up to 258 miles of range from a 71.2kWh battery pack, or up to 184 miles equipped with the 51.5kWh battery. However, it also set a new Guinness World Record when it travelled 430 miles with a full payload...

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Hold on to your hats, though, because there could soon be a new style king in town. Renault first launched the Trafic in 1980, and since then it’s sold over 2.5 million of the things. This new fourth generation model is arguably the most desirable of the lot though thanks to its properly fresh design, including visor-like windscreen, light strips and backlit logos.

It remains as practical as ever too, with the L1 body getting a load capacity of 5.1m³ and the L2 extending the wheelbase by 40cm to up the space to 5.8m³. Renault has also reduced the height to 1.9m in order to help it fit in any and all underground car parks, and we’re told the large doors mean you can load Euro pallets into the side and the rear. Expect to see it in 2027...

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Back in 2019, word came out that Amazon had partnered with and ordered 100,000 delivery vans from Rivian, as part of its pledge to achieve a target of reaching net zero carbon by 2040. The vans started rolling off the production line in 2022, with more than 20,000 now in operation across the US and and more than a billion parcels delivered in 2024 alone.

But Rivian wasn’t done there. It later announced it would make the vans available to other businesses. Available in two sizes, the 500 and larger 700, power comes a front a front driven electric motor with a range of up to 161 miles, while in the back the vans get a payload of up to 2,734lbs. No word on whether we’ll get them in the UK, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed.

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You’re not short of options when it comes to small sized electric vans – and to tell you the truth, we could have chosen from any of the Citroen e-Berlingo, Fiat e-Doblo, Peugeot e-Partner, Toyota Proace City Electric or Vauxhall Combo Electric from within the Stellantis et al camp, all of which share the same EMP2 platform, same 50kWh battery and up to 213 miles of range.

We’ve gone for the e-Partner, however, because it gets the same iCockpit that you find in Peugeot’s car range, with a compact steering wheel and high-mounted instrument cluster. Some people love it, some people loathe it, but it’s at least got style on its side compared to any of its other slightly uninspiring Stellantis siblings. Who says vans have to be boring?

What about if you need something slightly bigger? Again, you’ve plenty of choice from Stellantis alone – take your pick from the almost identical Citroen e-Dispatch, Fiat e-Scudo, Peugeot e-Expert and Vauxhall Vivaro Electric – which all get the same platform and same choice of 50 or 75kWh battery offering up to 148 or 213 miles of range respectively.

This time though, we’ve gone for the full-size Proace Electric, largely due to the extended warranty offered compared to its almost identical competitors (yep, the Toyota and Stellantis platform sharing for vans stretches right across the range). That’s because every Toyota comes with a three-year manufacturer warranty, with an additional year added with every qualifying service up to 10 years or 100,000 miles, as standard. And as the saying goes, a tradesman is only as good as his tools…

Looking for something a little more premium to represent your business? Mercedes offers both the medium-sized eVito or the larger-sized eSprinter, with both having recently received much needed updates in the past year. We’re focusing on the latter here, which now claims double the range of its predecessor, for up to 272 miles from its 113kWh battery. Impressive.

Alternatively you’re looking at 161 miles equipped with the 81kWh battery, while you’ve also the choice of two motor outputs (136 or 204bhp), two lengths (Long or Extra Long) and two body styles (van or chassis) to mull over, with a maximum 14m3 load capacity and a payload up to 1,273kg.Sure, it’ll cost you a premium over most rivals, but you can’t put a price on image.

The Citroen Ami Cargo remains every bit as adorable as the regular two-seat Ami it’s based on, but ditches the passenger seat in favour of an extra 260 litres of storage space, bringing total load capacity to 400 litres. That’s 20 litres more than you get in your Volkswagen Golf’s boot, FYI. 

Measuring 2.41m long, 1.39m wide and 1.52m tall, the Ami Cargo gets a separating partition between the driver and cargo area, a fold-down shelf that holds up to 40kg or can be used as a mobile desk, and a two-way adjustable floor for carrying larger items. Otherwise it’s as per the Ami ordinaire, which means a 5.5kWh battery mated to an 8bhp electric motor for a top speed of 28mph and an electric range of up to 46 miles. Sold? Prices start from £7,695 OTR.

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The London Electric Vehicle Company might be best known for its modern day London Taxi, but what you might not know is that it also makes a panel van version too. It’s not quite purely electric mind, because while still driven by electric motors and capable of up to 74 miles of EV-only range, its 34.6kWh battery is charged by a 1.3-litre engine when it runs out of juice.

That allows for a combined range of over 300 miles. In the back it gets a 5.5m³ loadspace, big enough for two Euro sized pallets (which can be loaded from both the side and rear doors), and a gross payload of 830kg. Like the passenger carrying variant it also gets a 10.1m turning circle, meaning it should be super nimble around town.

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