The all-electric Iveco eDaily has had a major model-year update, just a year after it first went on sale in the UK. The large electric van gets changes to the cabin, upgrades to the safety kit and the addition of a fourth battery, which should offer even more electric-only range.
It adds to the breadth of options from what is one of the most versatile electric vans on the market, with huge towing and payload capacities and an enormous 20 cubic metre cargo bay. It also has the ability to choose between range and payload, even after you have bought the vehicle thanks to an innovative battery-swap system.
Iveco has also upgraded its electric power take off (ePTO) system on the 2024 model year eDaily. This allows users to plug in machinery while out on a job site, and can now provide as much as 50kW of power.
What is new about the 2024 Iveco eDaily?
The changes on the surface of the 2024 Iveco eDaily are not huge, but the ones underneath are more important. Perhaps the most visually obvious are the ones in the cabin, where there is a new digital system. Gone is the outdated setup and in comes a 10.25-inch customisable digital instrument cluster that is standard across the range.
The infotainment changes, too, with a 10.0-inch screen that is built into the redesigned dashboard. It comes with smartphone mirroring, advanced navigation that uses Tom Tom Live to get traffic-based route planning and voice control for features such as the lights, windows and climate system. Lower models will get a smaller 7.0-inch screen that will still provide smartphone mirroring.
There are also new means of charging devices – a wireless phone charger is joined by USB-C and USB-A ports.
What extra safety kit does the 2024 Iveco eDaily get?
The Iveco eDaily gets new ADAS kit as a result of the update, with a new Traffic Jam Assist that will allow it to creep forwards and control its speed in urban congestion. This combines Advanced Lane Centring, Adaptive Cruise Control and Intelligent Speed Assist and Traffic Sign Recognition Safety Warning systems.
It also gets new passive safety features to allow it to meet new GSR B requirements. Iveco says it has strengthened the front chassis to this extent.
These features sit alongside a new Turn Assist function, which puts on the brake if it senses you are turning into danger.
Is there anything else that is new for 2024?
The on-board charger for power tools and the like has been upgraded to be a 50kW system. This will be an optional system, though, which means the eDaily should be able to power some seriously heavy-duty kit.
A new rear leaf suspension should boost payload, while there are more digital features that will let you control the Daily via its app. This will allow you to remotely lock or unlock the doors, set the engine to Eco mode and will even allow fleet managers to monitor their drivers’ health if they are wearing a medically certified smartwatch.
What batteries can you have with the Iveco eDaily?
Here’s the clever bit. Iveco previously offers a choice of one, two or three batteries in the eDaily, with each providing 37kWh of capacity, but the 2024 update has added a fourth battery to this. They slot together like Lego bricks along the chassis, meaning you can have a van with a 37kWh, 74kWh, 111kWh or 148kWh battery pack. The third option is already comfortably the largest battery in the class, so the fourth takes it a step further.
However, it is worth noting that you can only get four batteries on the longest version of the Daily, and on one with a 7.2-tonne gross-vehicle weight. This means you won’t be able to drive it on a standard category B licence.
2024 also brings a new side-mounted charging port for the chassis-cab models, so you don’t have to park nose in if you have a particularly awkward conversion on the back.
What’s particularly special about the batteries, though, is that you can chop and change them to suit the needs of your business, which promises to extend the usable life of the van. Mike Cutts, Iveco’s Light Business Line Director summed the system up neatly, saying: ‘it delivers a number of levels of flexibility for the customer as they can add or remove a battery if the mission of the vehicle changes.
‘So, they might want to drive it further, but are happy to take a compromise on payload – add a battery. Or, actually, they want more payload but don’t want to drive it as far, take a battery out.’
It benefits the used market, too, because buyers don’t need to waste time hunting for the correct spec eDaily for their business with the right-sized battery. Simply find the spec you want and edit the battery capacity to suit. Iveco has even designed an approved battery programme to reuse the unwanted cells they remove from other eDailys.
The idea is that your local Iveco technician will check the degradation of your battery and, if you want some extra range, fit a used battery at the same level of degradation. Cutts explained that chaining a brand-new battery to a used one is a false economy, as the new one will only operate at the same level as the batteries that are already degraded on the vehicle.
That also stands to save the driver money on battery swaps, which is just as well because Iveco reckons it’ll cost around £15,000 and two hours of labour to fit one brand-new battery to the eDaily. That’s an awful lot of money, especially for a one-man-band tradie. Still, at least the batteries are guaranteed to retain 80% of their capacity for eight years or 155,000 miles.
You can charge the eDaily at a wallbox, industrial or public charger. Find a point capable of suppling 115kW of DC power and you’ll be able to add 100km (roughly 62 miles) of range to the van’s battery in just 20 minutes. Plug a three-battery van into an 11kW AC wallbox and it’ll take nine hours to charge from empty.
How much can the new Iveco eDaily carry?
Everything you need it to. Iveco describes the new eDaily as the ‘electric twin’ of the standard Daily, which means you get the same body shapes, driving ability and load capacity as the diesel models. The heaviest 7.2-tonne model will offer up to 19.6 cubic metres of loading space and a maximum payload of 4.6 tonnes. It can also tow up to 3,500kg.
There are lighter variants weighing between 3.5 and 5.2 tonnes, but those models have lower payloads. The most basic eDaily can carry a maximum of 2,240kg, while the middling 4.25-tonne option has a payload of up to 2,700kg. Every version of the van uses the same rear-mounted electric motor with 190hp and 400Nm of torque.
We sat down with Mike Cutts, Iveco’s Light Business Line Director, at the 2023 Commercial Vehicle Show for a chat about the eDaily’s future. He reckons the van’s huge towing and payload capacities will allow Iveco snap up some market share once the government’s 2035 diesel van ban comes into effect, as its competitors don’t currently sell any EVs with the same capability.
He said: ‘I think what’s really exciting for us is that if you think about how many Transits are out there that are towing on diesel. Those operators need to go to electric. Where are they going to go? To us.
‘So, you know, there’s a real opportunity for us to not only service our existing customer base, but also service all of those other competitors that are running other products that have to do a mission – and those competitors aren’t offering an electric product that can do that mission.’
What else should I know about the Iveco eDaily?
Well, you can use its battery to power your tools or run specialised vehicle bodies like refrigeration units, rubbish compactors and even the life-saving equipment aboard ambulances. And Iveco says the eDaily’s batteries will manage this additional load intelligently.
Mike Cutts explained: ‘[the software] will learn that, if you’re a waste compactor, that on a shift, it compacts 25 times and it also needs to save enough energy for its last compaction back in the depot before the driver goes home. So, it will tell the driver “you’ve got 15 miles range left.” Really, it’s got 30, but it’s saving the rest to run the equipment.’
Iveco has also teamed-up with Hyundai to develop a hydrogen-powered eDaily prototype. It was unveiled in 2022, using the same 190hp electric motor as the standard eDaily van, but six hydrogen storage tanks instead of three 37kWh batteries. Iveco says the system offers a maximum range of 350km (217 miles) and a refuelling time of just 15 minutes.
This isn’t a pie-in-the-sky project either – it has both feet on solid commercial footing. Cutts said: ‘For us, the next step is the development of hydrogen into the vehicle ranges as well, to offer a full complement of powertrains. So, we’ll have CNG (compressed natural gas), diesel, electric and hydrogen. So, you know, we’ve got all the bases covered.’
The biggest challenge facing the roll-out of this hydrogen tech is the infrastructure – and Iveco say it’s lobbying the government to accelerate that transition. But Cutts reports that the industry is in a bit of a stalemate. ‘It’s always chicken and egg,’ he said. ‘The infrastructure guys don’t want to build it until the trucks are there and people don’t want to buy the trucks until the infrastructure’s there.’
How much does the 2024MY Iveco eDaily cost and when can I buy one?
Iveco is always a little coy when it comes to revealing its prices, as it deals largely with companies that buy big trucks. However, the eDaily starts from around £60,000 but this will go up to £110,000 for a three-battery, highest-payload option. Adding another battery on top of this will increase the cost on a pro-rata basis – there is no discount to be had for buying more batteries at once.
Iveco says this high price-tag is justified, though, because the eDaily offers the same capability as a light truck – and the driver stands to claw back some money on maintenance costs and fuel throughout the van’s life cycle.
