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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg All Electric_ZEV Commercial Truck to be made in USA. (greencarcongress.com/2009/03/smith-electric.html#more)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/SmithElectricVehicle.jpgGCC (greencarcongress.com) - Mar. 02, 2009

Wouldn't you like to see some big brown versions of this running around? -- Ed.

Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation (SEV US Corp) (earlier post), a Delaware corporation temporarily headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., is announcing the launch of its new company in conjunction with the National Truck and Equipment Association’s (NTEA) Work Truck Show to be held at Chicago’s McCormick Place, 4-6 March.

The company will assemble and market all-electric zero-emission commercial vehicles in North America, and said it will initially focus its production on battery-electric-powered vehicles for depot-based route delivery fleets.

SEV US Corp said it has already received a strong expression of interest from fleet operators and as a result, the company is building a scalable assembly operation and supply chain to serve this emerging market. The company will soon announce a site for its production facility. SEV US Corp will begin production using chassis from multiple vehicle manufacturers.

Through its UK partner, The Tanfield Group Plc, SEV US Corp is working with Ford Motor Company to electrify the Ford Transit Connect as a BEV (battery electric vehicle) light-duty van scheduled for production in 2010. ...http://www.greencarcongress.com/2009/03/smith-electric.html#more

That's pretty impressive --- 8 tons of stuff carried 100 miles at (lets say) 30 mph average. Plus the weight of the truck and batteries themselves (2 tons maybe?). Wonder what size batteries this needs, and what kind they use.

16,000 payload, 100 mile range. Very interesting.
Keith

From a delivery stand-point 100 miles is nothing. You would have to recharge it every few deliveries. I don't know this first hand but knowing what I do about how many packages a UPS truck gets a day I assume they would travel 200-300 miles a day. Without a doubt they go more than 100 miles in a day. Some trucks have to drive 30 miles just to get to their delivery area.

From a delivery stand-point 100 miles is nothing. You would have to recharge it every few deliveries. I don't know this first hand but knowing what I do about how many packages a UPS truck gets a day I assume they would travel 200-300 miles a day. Without a doubt they go more than 100 miles in a day. Some trucks have to drive 30 miles just to get to their delivery area.

I was wondering about that. It may work for some areas, but not for the company as a whole yet.

I know the UPS center that delivers to my home is right at 30 miles away (and it also covers the base which is 25+ miles from both locations).

It might work for a Kansas City truck that stayed in KC (for maybe 10 deliveries), but not for the rural areas.

I do know of one route that this would work for with the USPS. Every day they deliver/pickup mail in Warrensburg to take to/from KC. It's pretty close to the limit, but it's only done once a day.

UPS, and others, have many routes that don't hit 100 miles in a day. The concentration of customers can be pretty tight. Even the trucking company I occasionally drive for has 2 or 3 trucks (out of 11) that do less than 100 miles daily, with 15-20 deliveries/pick ups. There are other applications- bakery, chips, contractors, etc that need larger vehicles, some spending a lot of time at several deliveries, putting of few miles.

A 100 mile range could capture a significant percentage of applications out there. Enough to at least get things started. I guessing a 200 mile range would be needed to get the majority?

Keith

UPS drivers have anywhere from 100-200 deliveries a day. That isn't including pick-ups.

Everyone here has good points.

It isn't sufficient for most applications, but it is a good start to get the ball rolling.

UPS drivers have anywhere from 100-200 deliveries a day. That isn't including pick-ups.

Exactly, that's how concentrated some of the routes are.
Keith

You are right that the routes are concentrated in the city. But I believe that only a handful out of the hundreds of route just at the small hub I work at go less than 100 miles. Then you have to take into account that during Christmas those same drivers can double in the number of stops they have to make.

Sounds like your hub would not be a good candidate for these trucks? Maybe a more urban environment, Chicago, NY etc? Enough trucks to get real world testing started.
Keith

Hi All:

More info on the Ford’s European Connect goes Electric in Geneva. (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20061)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

I realized after I posted yesterday that my posts sounded a little aggressive. If they were I apologize.

My hub is in downtown Indianapolis. There is another larger hub in a business area about 10 miles from my hub. There is also a smaller hub on the outskirts of the city.

I realized after I posted yesterday that my posts sounded a little aggressive. If they were I apologize.


I didn't think so. You have some inside knowledge regarding what would make these things actually useful. It's a piece that helps educate us.

Keith