In Venlo, VDL Bus & Coach is building the first electric motorhome for the Western European market. VDL Bus Venlo, part of VDL Bus & Coach, and Camperfixx BV enter into a long-term partnership to fulfill the ambition of many holiday enthusiasts. With the e-Fixxter it will soon be possible to cover a distance of approximately 300 kilometers.
VDL bus Venlo becomes an industrial partner of Camperfixx, a motorhome construction company from Friesland. VDL will build compact electric motorhomes based on the virtually identical Peugeot Expert, Toyota Proace, Opel Vivaro and Citroën Jumpy. It is expected to involve at least 30 electric vehicles by 2021, for the Dutch market alone. The vehicles are sold by Camperfixx.
The collaboration with Camperfixx is in line with our strategy to allow our Special Vehicles department to grow. We have already been successful with the conversion of riot buses and surveillance cars for the police. There is also a lot of demand for our Medibus, a mobile medical practice. The activities that we carry out in collaboration with Camperfixx seamlessly match the competences of the Special Vehicles department. It is a great opportunity to continue to grow within this sector. In addition, the activities fit in with the philosophy of VDL Bus & Coach as a frontrunner on e-mobility.
Dutch holidaymakers are buying campers en masse, according to a study by industry organization Bovag in July 2020. Even the corona crisis has not been able to put a brake on this: many people opt for individual transport and other types of holidays instead of, for example, air travel to foreign destinations. In addition to the 120.000 campers and campers, the Netherlands also has half a million caravans, according to the Bovag figures.
There are actually no limits to growth at the moment. To meet the demand for electric motorhomes, we would like to work with VDL Bus Venlo. We are not only active in the Dutch market, but also in Germany and Belgium. We focus on active young families and people who are moving towards retirement and enjoy their well-deserved rest.
You see more and more that these target groups also have the express wish to go on a sustainable holiday. Compact electric motorhomes, suitable for 4 or 5 people, are a gap in the market and with VDL we are the first to offer such a vehicle on the Western European market. The electric camper comes in a 4- and a 5-person version. The choice of 2 lengths is unique and, due to the compact construction, both can also be used as a 'normal' car. The height is less than 2 meters and the turning circle of both variants is remarkably short. The range is approximately 330 kilometers. The battery pack charges up to 80 percent of the battery in half an hour. The rear seat is slidable and can be converted into a wide bed in just 10 seconds. There is plenty of cupboard space and the kitchen is equipped with a refrigerator. An extra bed can be installed in the pop-top roof.
taxi vans
The construction of the electric motorhome is just right for VDL. VDL Bus Venlo, part of VDL Bus & Coach, produces mini & midi buses for tour and public transport, police vehicles, taxi buses, airport transport and special transport such as buses for the disabled and VIP buses in all possible versions. Due to the collapse of the taxi van market, due to the corona crisis last year, the construction of the e-Fixxter has come at the right time. The Medibus is also being developed in Venlo. This mobile medical practice, in which a VDL bus of the Citea LLE-127 type serves as a platform, is currently being used in a large-scale study by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) into the COVID-19 distribution in Germany.
Photo: VDL Bus & Coach bv
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