This tiny electric delivery van concept could solve a puzzle for urban businesses
HW Electro Puzzle electric delivery van is a multifunctional micro-machine for small businesses of the future

Today’s scooter-strewn and lorry-laden streetscapes are a taste of things to come. The city of the future might be not abuzz with flying cars, but it’ll certainly be awash in micro-delivery vehicles. Japanese manufacturer HW Electro thinks it can step up to the challenge and become a major player in this new market. This is its Puzzle concept, first shown at Japan Mobility 2023, a proposal for an ultra-compact urban cargo carrier.
HW Electro Puzzle, a tiny electric delivery van
HW Electro has crammed every conceivable extra into the Puzzle, playing up the sliding block metaphor with a multifunctional interior with a passenger seat that folds into a desk, plug sockets galore inside and out, a capacious load bay, an emergency first aid kit that’s accessible from outside the van and even a public Wi-Fi hotspot.
At under 3.4m in length and less than 1.5m wide, the Puzzle could probably perch in the bed of Tesla’s Cybertruck (and would be a far more sensible proposition for around town deliveries). Expected range is around 100-150 miles – a DHL van does around 100 miles on a typical UK daily route. The cargo bay has a capacity of 350kg and is designed with 90-degree angles all round to maximise every last bit of space.
As well as interior and exterior design that’s intended to be as flexible as possible, the van has flat panelled bodywork that’s just begging for signage (as well as being easy to repair) and even a clever pegboard-style covering on the doors and dash that allows different add-ons and function to be added. Up front, there’s a friendly pair of round LED headlights that give the Puzzle a welcoming retro feel.
Whilst the Puzzle conforms to Japan’s kei car regulations in terms of size, the company seems keen to make the Puzzle a more global product. First deliveries wouldn’t be until 2025, by which time many more companies will be looking to replace existing diesel-powered fleets with more energy-efficient machines. It might not be able to shift a sofa, but this kind of electric light commercial vehicle is the future of internet-driven urban commerce.
HW Electro Puzzle Concept, HWE-cars.jp
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Dine within a rationalist design gem at the newly opened Cucina Triennale
Cucina Triennale is the latest space to open at Triennale Milano, a restaurant and a café by Luca Cipelletti and Unifor, inspired by the building's 1930s design
-
The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear season
Between the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
-
Meet artist Michael McGregor, using hotel stationery as his canvas
Michael McGregor unveils an exclusive postcard set made with notepads from The Luxury Collection properties in Minneapolis, San Francisco and Savannah