Morris is making a comeback with an electric homage to the J-Type van

The name Morris Commercial hasn’t been seen on a vehicle since 1968, when its parent company British Motor Holdings formed with Leyland Motors to create the ill-fated British Leyland.

Now though, a Brit group of investors has secured the rights to the Morris Commercial brand name and is set to relaunch the moniker with what you see above. Okay, you might not be able to see much of it yet, but under those dark lights is a fully-electric, 21st century remake of the classic Morris J-Type van.

Inventively known as the Morris JE, it’ll apparently be a “premium product with sensational styling, excellent functionality and a practical driving range for business and pleasure.” Not promising much then…

Still, if the team behind it really can deliver (pardon the terrible pun), this could be the world’s first desirable, retro-styled commercial electric van.

Now, let’s be clear, this isn’t a classic car that’s been fitted with a load of batteries and an electric motor – it’s a completely new EV platform which will apparently form the base for a new era of modern Morris Commercial vehicles. 

We don’t know any technical details such as range or charging times as of yet, but the company has built a fully operational engineering prototype which we’ll see for the first time before the end of 2019.

Apparently, the body of the JE is made completely from carbon fibre – making it one of the lightest LCVs on the market. What this does for potential purchasing costs will be interesting to find out.

After its launch in 1948, the original J-Type became a bit of a British icon and was exported to 22 different countries during its lifetime. Reckon a modern one could be just as successful, Internet?