Farizon aims for "hearts and minds" of van drivers with long-range SV

China’s Geely, owner of car makers including Lotus, Volvo, Polestar, Smart and LEVC, is looking to shake up the UK’s LCV market with a new premium electric van brand. Farizon, founded in 2016, is just weeks away from beginning UK deliveries of its flagship SV, a mid-sized van available in three sizes and with a range of different battery options, and it plans to tempt fleets away from established ICE-powered alternatives by offering a more usable and premium-oriented proposition. The rear-driven SV (standing for Super Van) will be pitched against the likes of the new Volkswagen e-Transporter, the Mercedes-Benz eVito and the Ford E-Tourneo - the electric version of the UK’s best-selling overall vehicle. Including the UK's £5000 plug-in van grant – which is currently due to run until April next year – the SV starts from £40,000 in 'L1 H1' (short wheelbase, low-roof) form, with a 67kWh battery giving a range of 188 miles. A larger, 83kWh pack boosts range to 234 miles from £43,000 upwards, and Farizon’s UK boss Calum James says this version "will cover the majority of business use cases". The largest SV (L3 H3) can be specified with a 106kWh pack that gives an official range of 342 miles – making it comfortably the UK's longest-range electric van – for £51,000. As well as its long range and competitive load-lugging stats (a minimum payload of 1035kg, low load lip of 550mm and up to 13 cubic metres of load volume), James highlights the SV's extensive standard kit list as a factor that could give it an edge over established rivals. "We are positioning ourselves as perhaps slightly more premium than some of the other manufacturers, in terms of the specification that we put onto the vehicle as standard," he said. Highlights include the standard-fit payload monitoring system ("incredibly important for fleet compliance"), the air-conditioned seats, heated steering wheel, rear plug sockets and 360deg parking camera - all equipment that James says could help make the SV a talent acquisition tool for the businesses that choose to run it on their fleets. "Business owners want to attract and retain people, and the van is an office for that person who is in it all day. Whether they're a courier or they've got a refrigerated van, or they're a service engineer - that's their workspace. "And for employee retention, being able to put someone in an environment where, on a hot day, you're jumping in and out of a van and you've got air-conditioned seats - that's not widespread with any other OEM." He added this approach will strengthen the SV's appeal as a second-hand purchase, and thereby have a positive impact on residual values, which "for electric vehicles have been incredibly difficult". Ultimately, though, James says it’s about “winning the hearts and minds of drivers” and providing fleet operators with compelling reasons to switch from ICE vans to EVs. “Electric vans generally have a higher list price than combustion-engined vans, which they know work," he said. "So if you're in a large multi-division fleet, you've got a profit and loss operator who will be looking at things like [the SV] and saying: 'Well, I can buy a diesel van cheaper than I can an electric van.' But they're not necessarily always looking at the whole-life cost.” Demand for electric vans in the UK is lagging well behind the hypothetical trajectory outlined in the UK's ZEV mandate, under which LCV makers should achieve a 16% electric sales mix this year. At the midway point of the year, electric vans accounted for just 8.6% of the overall market. Nonetheless, James says the time is right for electric-only Farizon to launch in the UK because "a lot of the electric vans that are out there just don't quite do the job", and the ZEV mandate is "moving the topic along". "If you talk to fleet decision-makers, they all have environmental and sustainability targets or objectives that they're committed to - and these things are in the not-too-distant future: 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030…" Already, he said, Farizon is seeing "massive interest" from dealer partners. "Well-established commercial vehicle dealers are reaching out to us because they see a place for it in the market," he added. In addition to opening its own flagship dealership on London’s North Circular Road, Farizon has signed franchise agreements with businesses in Heathrow and Yeovil, and it plans to ramp up its footprint gradually as demand for EV vans increases. “Our growth will move at the pace of the readiness of the UK,” James said. “Many new brands come to the market, particularly from overseas, with large ambitions of huge market share immediately. We will work and be conservative - we will move at the pace that the market does." The company has signed its first franchise agreements with dealers in London and Somerset, and the flagship dealership in London is on a site previously run by failed used car dealer Cazoo. James said a priority for the coming months is to expand the retail footprint beyond those three initial sites. He stopped short of giving a target number but emphasised the importance of retailers sharing Farizon's fleet-first ethos. "Commercial vehicle businesses have a dedication towards uptime, which is really important", he said, adding that the company's scale-up plans revolve around minimising downtime for drivers, which means speed is absolutely crucial for any service or repair work. While Farizon scales up its retail network, it has signed an agreement with the AA to provide a mobile service and maintenance programme for SV operators, responding to any call-out within 72 hours. "Maximising uptime is so important to value operators, whether it's a large business or a small business," James said. "It's absolutely critical.” As it gets to work on boosting its retail footprint, brand visibility and market share in the UK, Farizon has no immediate plans to expand its line-up beyond the SV. James said: "We want to build a firm base with what we've got." He added, though, that he would not rule out "other variants - including a chassis cab”, in the future, and said the company will consider which other Farizon models could work in the UK. The brand has a much broader line-up of commercial vehicles in China, spanning from the electric Xinghan HGV down to the FX - an unusual car-based pick-up, which is in effect the Geely Boyue SUV with an open load-bed added to its rear.