Range & charging

Charging your rental van, step by step.

Charging is the one part of an EV rental that feels unfamiliar the first time. Here's exactly how it works, who pays, and how long it takes — per van.

Level 2 (AC) vs. DC fast charging, plainly

There are two ways to put charge into any of our vans:

• Level 2 / AC charging — the slower, plug-it-in-and-walk-away option. Good for overnight at a depot, yard, or job site. Takes hours, but costs you no time since it happens while the van is parked anyway.
• DC fast charging — the public "highway" chargers. Fills 0→80% in well under an hour for most of the fleet. This is what you'd use mid-route to top up during a workday.

How it works on an eVans BC rental

Every van leaves the depot at 100%, so short jobs may not need any charging at all. When you do need to plug in, you get an included charging card that covers payment at the public fast-charging network — no separate account to set up, no receipts to submit. Roadside top-up is included too, so running low is a minor inconvenience, not a stranding risk.

Charge times per van (0→80% DC fast)

The E-Transit is the fastest-charging van in the fleet. The Lion 6's much bigger 252 kWh battery gives it the most range headroom, but it's honestly the slowest to fast-charge — best suited to overnight AC charging at the depot or yard between jobs, rather than counting on a quick mid-route top-up.

Where to charge

Two options depending on the day:

• Public DC fast network along your route — we map the nearest fast chargers to wherever you're headed, so you're not hunting for one mid-job.
• AC overnight at depot, yard, or site — the simplest option if the van is parked overnight anyway. Plug in, walk away, it's full by morning.

What if you run out

Roadside top-up is included in every rental, 24/7, at no extra cost. If you're running low mid-route, that's what it's there for — you won't be stranded waiting on a tow.

A typical charging day, van by van

What charging actually looks like depends heavily on which van you've got and how you're using it:

• Ford E-Transit on a city route — most days, you won't touch a charger at all. Picked up at 100%, 230 km rated range covers a full day of in-town stops, and if you do need a splash of charge, ~28 minutes at a DC fast charger gets you back to 80%.
• Mercedes eSprinter on a longer regional route — plan an overnight AC charge at the depot before a long day, and treat any DC fast stop mid-route as a genuine top-up rather than routine.
• BrightDrop 600 on a delivery run — the longest rated range in the fleet at 438 km means most single-day routes never need a mid-day charge; the ~45 minute DC fast time is there for back-to-back long days.
• Lion 6 on a multi-stop box-truck job — with a ~2 hour DC fast charge time, this is the van to charge overnight on AC at the yard rather than mid-route. Its 350 km rated range is usually enough to get through the day without needing to plug in at all.

Practical tips

• Charge overnight whenever the van is parked at a depot, yard, or job site — it costs you nothing but plugging in.
• Save DC fast chargers for genuine mid-route top-ups, not routine daily charging — it's faster, but AC overnight is simpler when you have the time.
• In cold weather, fast charging runs slower — see our winter range guide for how to plan around it.

Common questions

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