NO longer will lovers of “vanlife” have to fret about their carbon footprint when they hit the road to explore the wonders of Scotland’s wild places.
A Scottish company has launched the world’s first zero-emissions campervan, heralding a revolution in low carbon travel and off-grid living.
CampervanCo have launched their Proace Eco Revolution which claims to use “all the latest technology aimed at reducing RV emissions to zero” and “way ahead of the UK government’s 2030 deadline” banning sales of new petrol and diesel cars.
The van combines zero-emissions driving with what it describes as “zero-emissions outdoor living”.
Solar power helps keep the super-fast induction hob, fridge, lights and heating running for days and the vehicle boasts “enough power to run all of your appliances for up to two weeks, without the need for a mains hook-up or intermittently running the engine to top-up the battery while parked”.
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The Denny-based company has been pioneering installing campervans with eco-friendly technology for over half a decade, and in this case have customised a Toyota Proace EV.
First images of its fittings also reveal an ingenious extra eco-credential: seats and a kitchen that can be attached and removed, allowing it to switch between a seven-seat MPV and a four-berth camper.
In recent years, a “vanlife” movement has swept Instagram with fashionable images of brightly-coloured vans in idyllic locations.
Photographs often suggest closeness to nature, adventure and freedom. However, increasingly it has been acknowledged that this travel lifestyle is far from sustainable.
The campervan holiday has long been appealing to Scots and Brits attracted to staycations, but their popularity rocketed over the Covid pandemic and UK sales in 2021 rose by 8 per cent to more than 16,000.
But a key issue is that most such homes on wheels leave a hefty carbon footprint.
Many are fuelled by diesel, and motorhome and campervan owners are already facing challenges, as the vehicles are increasingly being banned from city centre low emissions zones if their vehicles do not meet minimum emissions standards of Euro 6 for diesel or Euro 4 for petrol.
However, with this new vehicle, however, the van gets its freedom and green image back.
Gary Hayes, CEO & Founder of CampervanCo stated, “We are extremely proud to be launching the first fully zero-carbon, all-electric campervan. We have seen a huge increase in demand for hybrid and electric eco-campers since we launched them in 2016.
“Virtually every enquiry we receive is from someone who wants to minimise their carbon footprint, and visits to our website have increased six-fold since the summer.”
A survey carried out by CampervanCo found that campervan owners were acutely aware of the emissions issue around their vans.
Some 75.5% said they plan to switch to all electric by 2030, with 14% ready to make the switch this year.
Their survey also revealed that 70.7% believed zero-carbon emissions is the best feature of electric campers, 11.7% the cheaper fuel, while 7.9% feel the ability to go completely off-grid is the key feature.
The Proace Revolution starts at £69,995 and has a range of up to 205 miles in the 75kW and 144 in the 50kW versions.
Its high-power leisure battery can be fully recharged in just 48 minutes, when using a rapid charger.
CampervanCo are not alone in pioneering low emissions vans for a net zero age.
In 2018 Mercedes-Benz launched what they called the “camper van of the future”.
Their Concept Sprinter F-Cell was hydrogen fuel cell-powered and offered a 330-mile range. CampervanCo launched the world’s first low-emissions Hybrid Eco Campervan in 2016..
Mr Hayes said: “There are three elements to decarbonising campervans and we are the first to achieve all three.
“These are zero emissions on the drivetrain, zero emissions from off-grid leisure use, such as heating, lighting, refrigeration and cooking; and having a vehicle that can fulfil multiple roles for every-day use.
“Unlike other campervans, the Proace Revolution has the flexibility to be a daily family vehicle for up to seven people.”
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