Once upon a time, there was a British van called the Morris J-Type. A quirky thing that saw service up and down the UK in the 1950s, the J-Type predated the Transits and Sprinters of today by some margin. So, as with most things retro, it’s apparently due a comeback. The Morris JE will be making its public debut at the Fully Charged Live event on the 3rd, 4th and 5th of September 2021, just under two years after it was first unveiled. The Morris JE is electric, with a modern drivetrain, modular chassis, and carbon fiber body construction. In fact, the only similarities with the original is the Morris moniker and some heavily retro-influenced styling cues.
It’s built by Morris Commercial Limited, a company based in Worcestershire, England, that aims to bring back the name for a new age. However, far from any old-school (cough, underdeveloped and stagnant) British Leyland namesakes, the engineering behind the JE is remarkably forward-thinking. The van sits on a modular skateboard architecture and can carry a payload of 1,000 kg despite being in the lightest commercial vehicle segment of 2.5 tonnes. The body is made out of recycled and recyclable carbon fiber and aluminum, while the vehicle has been engineered and designed entirely in Britain. Details surrounding the drivetrain itself are scant, but the company says the JE will be suited for urban deliveries, having a 320 km range.
All this doesn’t come cheap though. Morris Commercial has previously estimated that the JE will have a retail price of approximately £ 60,000 (US$ 83,000). That’s steep for a light cargo van and is pricier than a Tesla Model 3 too. However, the company is clear on who they’re targeting. They hope the JE’s eco credentials and styling appeal to a very specific clientele. In their own words, the JE has been “designed for customers and businesses that crave individuality.” And to be honest, it’s not hard to see how one of these electric vans decked in company colors could become a talking point for any business.
