Electric Assisted Vehicles (EAV)

Paving a new path for Last Mile Delivery

How do you challenge the status quo when it comes to urban deliveries?

The road to net zero is firmly front and centre of the national focus. Many companies and innovators are striving to solve the fossil fuel problem – and the congestion and pollution that comes with it.

Electric Assisted Vehicles (EAV) are taking innovation around last mile delivery a step further.  Their eCargo bike is revolutionising urban transportation as a clean, efficient, and lightweight alternative to delivery vans. Their ‘Lite Tech’ approach focusses on achieving more with less: less waste, material, resources and energy.

When Universal Wolf and EAV began their partnership, EAV were looking for a fabrication partner to work closely with them on the build and development of the latest iteration of their chassis, which they had tweaked and improved based on customer feedback.

Collaboration through the design process

Our journey with EAV began with our New Product Introduction process. Collaborating closely with the customer, we took their revised design for their second generation eCargo bike and worked with them to finesse drawings, including developing appropriate manufacturing tolerances. Using a Build, Measure, Review and Develop cycle, we took an iterative approach to the NPI process – customer feedback and sign-off was key. Over the course of 20 units built, we refined our Points Inside Tolerance rating to 100%.

The chassis design presented various challenges in terms of creating a repeatable fabrication process and producing constant results. We made Design for Manufacture updates to the drawings to ensure the product was optimised for manufacturing and developed multiple fabrication jigs. We refined the fabrication process into several stages, which helped us to manage heat through the weld process.

Additionally, we offered effective transport solutions for volume delivery – being mindful of the fact that the EAV product is designed to be flat-packed for worldwide shipping.

Outcome for EAV

The teams at Universal Wolf and EAV successfully collaborated to refine the chassis design. The next step for the team is to prepare the process for the increased volume of serial production.

Over the course of the six months development, we were able to demonstrate the quality of our metalwork, willingness to support, diligence in data recording and our ability effectively communicate between our two businesses. We are delighted to have been confirmed as their sole metalwork partner.

For EAV, the eCargo bike is just the start. With partners including Evri, DPD, Amazon and Asda, among many others; it is clear that the concept is delivering value to the marketplace. We look forward to continuing to support them with the eCargo bike and future exciting developments.

Learn more about Universal Wolf’s sheet metal fabrication capabilities: https://universalwolf.com/what-we-do/our-sheet-metal-fabrication-capabilities/ 

Learn more about EAV: https://eavcargo.com/