Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., the Kansas-City based manufacturing arm of Smith Electric Vehicles in the United Kingdom, opened their doors in 2009 and are already going strong.  Several large companies such as AT&T, Coca-Cola, and Frito-Lay have contracted to purchase test fleets of the local delivery, electric trucks that Smith Electric is already in production with.

Originally partnered with Ford as part of the auto giant’s Transit electric panel van, Smith and Ford broke off relations when the companies seemed to be at odds about when electrics should be produced.  Ford decided to curtail production to wait for better economic times and Smith decided to move along with their own vehicles.

Smith Electric has both light and medium-duty delivery vans, trucks, and rigs.  All the way up to Class 8, in fact.  Their current product in production is the Smith Newton, an all-electric Class 5 delivery truck.

The Newton:

• Top speed of 50mph
• Range per charge: up to 120 miles (dep. on options)
• Payload up to 16,280 pounds
• 120kW induction motor
• Lithium-ion phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries
• GVW: 16,535, 23,148, or 26,455 lbs (depending on option)

The Newton requires about 6-8 hours for a full recharge (overnight), but can be charged to 80% capacity in less than an hour, allowing for lunch break plug-ins for extended range.  It’s meant as a local delivery vehicle and Coca-Cola plans to use theirs on city routes for delivering beverages to small venues such as convenience stores and vending machines.

Smith plans to focus on the large Class 3-5 markets for the near future, as the larger trucks often require a longer range which would put the Newton platform out of reach despite it’s scalability up to Class 8.

While the trucks are pricey on the up-front costs, they are zero-fuel and zero-emissions (at the tailpipe) and have much lower maintenance costs as well.  So the high $150,000 price tag on the Class 5 (8-ton) Newton easily replaces its extra cost with fuel savings over its lifespan.  There are also numerous local, state, and federal incentives for purchasing alternative-fuel and electric vehicles like the Newton.  The State of Colorado pays up to 40% of the purcahse back in tax rebates, for instances.

AT&T is going for the heavier chassis with the bucket truck configuration (shown) to boost their residential and urban maintenance fleets by lowering emissions and also allowing for quieter work environments.

Smith Electric currently employs 25 people in its KC plant, mostly prepping and Americanizing trucks shipped in from the UK.  That is changing as more locally-sourced parts are being used to save on shipping costs.  Over time, more and more of the trucks will be built in the U.S. as sales increase to make enough demand for the facility investment.

The company’s new CEO, Roy Stanley, is a founder of the bus maker Optare, which  makes hybrid electric and battery electric buses in Europe.  This may be a new line for the company, but only time will tell.

Here’s video of the Newton in action:

Related posts:

1. Duane Reade Purchases Smith Electric Trucks