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By Jonathan Crouch

The B-On Pelkan is an affordable, spacious electric van that's cheap and cheerful but might make sense for some. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 56

The B-On Pelkan is by some margin the market's cheapest medium-sized electric van. There are some drawbacks and quirks that go along with that - restricted range, a basic feel and a strange side hatch - but your company might be prepared to accept them to get an EV van that this cheap and this big.

Backgroundword count: 184

We're used to seeing all-new car brands these days, but an all-new commercial vehicle marque is more of a rarity. Be-On is exactly that, but draws on established industry experience for the Pelkan, its first van. This Luxembourg-based company was founded in 2020 by a team of people who'd worked on the Streetscooter electric vehicles used by DHL in Germany and reckoned that, as a result, they had a better handle than the major makers on what commercial operators really needed from an electric van. As a result, they created the Pelkan - though it's more accurate to say that it's a product evolved from an existing one. To fast-track the company's start-up and keep prices down, B-On has based the Pelkan on a Chinese van, the Karry Dolphin. Karry is an Oriental brand owned by the Chery conglomerate - who import Omoda into the UK and share a lot of product development with Jaguar Land Rover. That's the back story; what about the product? Basically, it's a medium-sized EV van for the cost of a compact one. If that sounds interesting, read on.

Driving Experienceword count: 227

The basic feel of the Pelkan's cabin is very much mirrored by the basic driving experience it offers. There's no starter button, electronic handbrake, drive modes or regenerative braking options. There isn't even a 'Park' option on the drive selector dial that sits in the centre of the dashboard - just R (reverse), N (neutral) and D (drive). So it's not too much of a surprise to find that there's not much power on offer - just 114bhp and 260Nm of torque from the single electric motor. Still, that's enough for reasonably-sized 1.3-tonne payloads. That motor is used by both the two battery sizes, neither of which deliver particularly competitive EV range figures. The 43 version has a 43.5kWh battery which claims to be able to take this van up to 140 miles. The larger 53.6kWh battery of the 54 model extends that to 173 miles. Around town, operators will appreciate the wieldy dimensions, aided by the compact width. And the great level of all-round visibility, helped by the large windows and narrow pillars. Plus the short bonnet makes the Pelkan easy to place on the road. And the light steering means it's easy to manoeuvre on city streets. Operators will be less happy with the fact that the indicators don't self-cancel. And the 13.9-metre turning circle is far too large for a van of this size.

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