Citroen tried to get the van buying public excited about electrically powered vehicles in 1998 when they introduced the electrically powered Berlingo van. It was ahead of its time. The van was on sale for five years, but after an initial flurry of interest, the public appetite waned and the van was withdrawn from sale in 2005.Now they're back, and this time they have the impetus of governments egging them on and conventional fuel prices going through the roof. The trouble is, as always, how do you get the buyers excited about working vehicles which have a range of 100 miles (on a good day) and are expensive to buy?
The politicians also need to 'electrify' the buyers to try and justify the huge expense of their landscape and seascape blighting windfarms!
Anyway, Citroen are back with a new shape Berlingo which has batteries stored under the floor and a 49 Kw electric motor under the bonnet, so there is no impact on the cab or storage box behind it. Price will be £21,300 plus VAT and it can be charged up overnight by a domestic three pin plug.
The new van was unveiled by some silver foil wrapped lovelies who bounced around to some loud music. And that was about as close as this year's CV Show got to glamour!
