Nissan Made An Electric Ice Cream Van

Nissan Made An Electric Ice Cream Van

On June 20 in was Clean Air Day in the UK, and to celebrate Nissan unveiled a zero emissions ice cream truck that runs entirely on electricity.

Clean energy has never been so delicious.

[referenced url=”https://gizmodo.com.au/2019/06/my-new-hero-is-this-woman-who-turned-her-tesla-model-3-into-a-pickup-truck/” thumb=”https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_ku-large/c1nbfdap6otvq8judbzl.png” title=”My New Hero Is This Woman Who Turned Her Tesla Model 3 Into A Pickup Truck” excerpt=”If you want an electric pickup truck, you sort of don’t have any options right now because none currently exist for the public to buy, at least here in the U.S. There’s the Rivian R1T, of course, but it isn’t available yet. And there’s the Tesla pickup truck which we’re told might happen this winter. So, if you want one now, you kind of have to build it yourself.”]

The EV Ice Cream truck was a reskin of Nissan’s previously existing e-NV200 all-electric van that is equipped with a 40kWh battery and has roughly 200km range.

While creating an electric ice cream van may seem like a mere PR stunt, there is a practical reason why they are the perfect target for going electric.

According to Electrek, the majority of ice cream vans run on diesel engines that are required to run even when the vehicle is at a stand still. The reason behind this is because it’s needed to keep powering the refrigeration so the tasty treats stay frozen.

Unsurprisingly, this burns few quite a bit of a fuel.

Comparatively, Nissan’s truck was equipped with its own ROAM battery pack that powered the refrigeration, so it didn’t have to draw extra juice from the EV battery.

“Ice cream is enjoyed the world over, but consumers are increasingly mindful of the environmental impact of how we produce such treats, and the ‘last mile’ of how they reach us,” said Kalyana Sivagnanam, managing director of Nissan Motor Great Britain.

“This project is a perfect demonstration of Nissan’s Intelligent Mobility strategy, applying more than a decade of EV experience and progress in battery technology to create cleaner solutions for power on the go – in ways customers might not expect. By eliminating harmful tailpipe emissions, and increasing our use of renewable energy, we can help make this a better world for everyone.”

The ROAM isn’t in market yet, but it will arriving in Europe some time in 2019.

In the meantime, here’s to hoping that we will spot some EV Ice Cream vans on a hot Australian summer day sometime over the next few years.

[Electrek]


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