Morris Commercial, the UK-based van start-up, has announced that it has completed a significant funding round bringing new investment to the project.

Capital for Colleagues (C4C), a listed investment vehicle focused on opportunities in the Employee Owned Business sector, has invested alongside substantial investment from C4C co-investor Bill Ainscough and TJ Morris Limited. Morris Commercial’s current shareholders have also made sizable further investments.

The company unveiled its first concept prototype Morris JE in November 2019, showcasing a fully battery electric van for the 21st century with the style of the famous 1950’s van on which it is based.

It has a combination of a one ton payload and 6.5 m3 carrying capacity at a 2.5 ton GVW, and a driving range of up to 250 miles.

A production prototype made its debut in September 2022, and with the new funding round, the Morris JE will now be subject to further R&D, engineering validation, certification, and moves towards production.

With the establishment of the company’s production facilities, the delivery of the new vehicle is set to begin in early 2024.

Dr Qu Li, the CEO of Morris Commercial said: “With this new investment, we will be able to accelerate product development and take Morris JE to market.

“I am very excited about the future for Morris Commercial and look forward to delivering our iconic van to our many thousands of pre-registered customers around the globe with the support of our new investment partners.”