Stellantis has signed a partnership deal with Qinomic to retrofit light commercial vehicles with electric powertrains.
Many companies and people who own light commercial vehicles customize them; some put more money into the customizations than the vehicles themselves. Retrofitting these with electric power can give them a new life when the engine or transmission get close to, or reach, the end of their lives. In addition, a large number of areas in Europe are being declared “low emissions zones” where electric power is a definite advantage.
The partnership will be part of the Stellantis Circular Economy Business Unit. Qinomic “visent à accélérer le déploiement de solutions décarbonées (électrique ou hydrogène) en créant de la valeur sur tous les cycles de vie du véhicule.” In English, French firm Qinomic has 30 years of experience in the auto industry, and currently deploys BEV and hydrogen solutions for extending vehicle life.
Given that all of the credible studies on environmental impact have told us that it’s always best to “use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”, maybe the expense of converting otherwise end-of-life work vans to BEV/hydrogen will be a good thing on balance.
I can only hope that Stellantis’ “circular economy” efforts are legitimate, driven by hard numbers from engineers, not just the scientists (who all have considerable bias, one way or the other).
well there hope for my 220,000 mile 2008 dodge avenger …….