Stellantis Expands Electric Commercial Vehicle Lineup at IAA Transportation

Stellantis showed off a wide range of electric commercial vehicles at a trade show in Germany, mostly small vans and delivery trucks built for businesses rather than personal use. The lineup included the Fiat TRIS, a small three-wheeled electric delivery vehicle that can carry more than 500 kilograms, runs on a battery good for about 90 kilometers, and plugs into a standard household outlet to charge. Stellantis also debuted a new Smart Compact Van with an electric version rated for about 270 kilometers of range, plus gas and hybrid versions coming later. Larger electric vans, including a refrigerated delivery van and vehicles set up for trades like electrical work, were also on display.

None of this is aimed at homeowners directly — these are commercial vehicles for businesses that run delivery routes or trade services, not personal cars or home equipment. But it's a sign of how far electric vans and small trucks have come: return-to-depot routes, like a van that comes back to the same warehouse every night, are turning out to be a natural fit for battery power, since they don't need the long range that trucks driving hundreds of kilometers a day require.

Stellantis also showed a connected fleet system that helps businesses track vehicle use and maintenance, and previewed an early self-driving delivery vehicle. Again, these are business tools, not something that changes what's available for home energy upgrades. If you're watching the shift to electric vehicles generally, it's another data point that the technology is spreading well beyond passenger cars.