Tanfield Group. DELIVERING already, and REACHING higher

"..How confident are you guys that TNT will place a 200+ order after the trial..."

Hart - I mentioned in a couple of previous posts that the prospect of a trial being followed by a fleet order is just that at this stage - a prospect. There is always the risk that it won't happen. And that the reference the TNT boss made to vehicles appearing in Amsterdam, Paris and Milan is merely a reference to further trials, - which might be his way of hogging the green headlines on behalf of TNT for a further few months without committing to any real deal. That is the cautious skeptical me. The less skeptical me is reasonably convinced that specific quantities (the 200, and the talk of a further 200 on top of that) would not have been mentioned by him at all if he wasn't reasonably serious in his enthusiasm - he would surely have left the numbers out and referred merely to "possible orders to follow", leaving open the possibliity of buying very few or none. Neither he nor Tanfield have considered it necessary to lower expectations by withdrawing or playing down those numbers.

One thing that does intrigue me is how Tanfield expect to cope with truly large scale production in the event of any such fleet order being followed by others. And whether there is any possibility of Avia taking a role beyond that of supplying cab/chassis. When the Hinduja brothers (Ashok Leyland) took full control of Avia last summer, they made clear they were looking to quickly ramp up production and intended to become a serious global competitor in the trucks & vans marketplace worldwide as soon as possible. That was a reference to diesel (and possibly biodiesel) vehicles. But if TNT really do go ahead with a large fleet order, and the world responds, I wonder if Avia might want to market electric trucks under their own name?

Purely thinking aloud there.

Another thing which encourages me to believe the prospect of a follow-on fleet order is a serious possibility rather than just wishful thinking, is the comment from rival Modec, that they are soon to confirm a fleet order (within 12 weeks?) with a delivery firm (Ocado/Waitrose?), for their own all-electric Transit-size vans. Also the french post office (La Poste) has been trialling an all-electric small delivery van, which is also now going into commercial production.

mtg

PS: This reference to Modec is from a Birmingham Post article dated 27 Dec:

"...In the automotive distribution market, Coventry-based manufacturer Modec will begin mass-production in the new year of three environmentally friendly electronic-powered vehicles... ..From a single charge, the battery-powered Modec Van, flatbed-tipper, and chassis cab - which produce no harmful emissions - can all cover up to 100 miles and carry a load of up to two tonnes... ..The vehicles - which are exempt from road tax - are set to revolutionise urban delivery and have attracted the interest of many blue-chip companies in the UK..."

And this re the french van:

"..SVE (Société de véhicules électriques), an electric vehicle developer jointly created by the French companies Heuliez and Dassault.. has been testing the CLEANOVA II battery-electric vehicle with the French post office (La Poste) and expects to begin commercial sales imminently. CLEANOVA II uses lithium-ion batteries and a permanent magnet AC synchronous motor-generator.."


So, it looks like several makes of all-electric delivery vehicles will hit the streets within months. Which helps make the Tanfield prospect sound real.