Attention ‘Posties’ and courier drivers – how good is this? The Volkswagen eT! Light commercial van operates its doors automatically and can be operated by remote control so it will follow you down the street as you move from door-to-door. And you can drive it standing up kerbside where the passenger seat would normally be – so when delivering parcels, you don’t need to constantly open and close doors or even climb behind the normal steering wheel.
Or, when you’ve finished hand-deliveries in a street, the Volkswagen eT! has a ‘Come To Me’ function so it will return to you by remote control – with no-one behind the wheel.
Sound futuristic? Well it is - Volkswagen teamed with Deutsche Post and the University of Art in the German city of Braunschweig (home to many Volkswagen executives who work at head office in nearby Wolfsburg) to create the Volkswagen eT! – a glimpse into the future of delivery vans.
Deutsche Post (German Post Office) is one of the world’s largest operators of lightweight delivery vans and its drivers know a thing or two about working efficiently.
“We analysed process flows and customer needs in detail, and from these analyses we derived ideas on how the segment of delivery and courier vehicles could be further developed over the long term,” explained Volkswagen research chief Prof. Dr. Jurgen Leohold. “ In this context we focused on zero-emissions driving and available space in urban areas, semiautomatic driving functions that offer relevant support and simplify work processes and the integration of new communication technologies.”
Along the way, they designed a good-looking van.
Drive is via wheel-hub electric motors and, to truly create change in major cities, Volkswagen says it is vital the eT! batteries be re-charged from renewable sources so it is genuinely ‘zero-emissions’.
Sounds ground-breaking for sure, but the ‘Postie’ who delivers our mail would still swap all that for something which kept angry dogs away.
