TLX, a Spanish, family-run transport and logistics company, has debuted the new VX-Series vehicle-powered refrigeration units on their first two electric last-mile delivery vehicles.
The VX-Series is produced by Thermo King. Two V-400X units were fitted on electric MAN vans by Frigicoll, the Thermo King dealer in Spain, and handle last-mile deliveries in Elche (Alicante).
This project is part of TLX strategy to increase the sustainability of their fleet and thus contribute to the decarbonisation of cities and cleaner air in urban areas.
“We have been transitioning our operations and energy use to reduce our carbon footprint and incorporating the two 100% electric refrigerated vehicles is part of this journey,” said Ángel Sánchez, general manager, TLX.
“We have worked together with Thermo King, MAN and the Spanish bodybuilder Jeanje to create these last-mile delivery vehicles offering balanced, efficient and direct-emission-free urban distribution.”
“We are happy that one of the first of the new VX-Series units are now helping with sustainable home deliveries in Spain,” said Francisco Ramon Cambra Soriano, area sales manager Spain for Thermo King.
“Our customers like TLX can now benefit from the new and durable design, reduced dimensions and weight, and increased cooling capacities of this technology to successfully manage and operate their fleet. The VX- Series is ready to deliver exceptional performance across Europe, even in high temperature ambient conditions in Spain.”
The V-400X units in the TLX vehicles are one of the first of the new Thermo King VX-Series delivered to European customers. The units are connected to a battery pack ensuring 100% electric refrigeration for the fresh and frozen home delivery operations, estimated at 3 to 4 hours every day.
The Thermo King VX-Series has a significantly reduced overall envelope and half the weight of the predecessor units enabling customers to carry up to 80 kg more payload during each delivery route. Significantly reduced dimensions allow the VX-Series to be mounted on the roof of the vehicle, something that was not possible in the past with transport refrigeration units (TRU) with these cooling capacities. The new outline of the units includes modern aerodynamic and aesthetic vehicle designs.
The VX-Series models also feature new hermetic compressor technology, which increases the overall efficiency, lowers noise and vibration levels, and reduces refrigerant charge for more environmentally friendly operations. The new compressor technology makes the units compatible with battery-powered applications.
Designed for vehicles between 3.5 to 7.5 tonnes, the new VX-Series complete the cooling capacity offering of the Thermo King compressor driven portfolio of transport refrigeration units. The V-400X is offers 4kW of cooling capacity, while the V-500X and V-600X that replaced the incumbent V-500 and V-600 models increased cooling capacity of the predecessor units to 5.5kW and 6.5kW respectively.