Green Car Advisor
Smith
October 30, 2009
Plans Change after Smith Electric Vehicles, Ford Mutually Dissolve Prior Agreement
Ford Motor Co. says it has selected Azure Dynamics to build the upcoming Ford Transit Connect electric delivery van after the automaker and Britain's Smith Electric Vehicles mutually decided to sever their longstanding ties.
Smith, which has been using Ford truck chassis in Europe for its electric trucks, had been named last year as builder of the Transit Connect battery-electric vehicle.
The word we hear is that Smith, which has a North American offshoot, Smith Electric Vehicles U.S., decided the small-EV market is getting too competitive and is going to concentrate its resources on the large-truck segment.
The change won't delay the planned launch of the electric van, though, said Ford spokeswoman Jennifer Moore. "We're still on track for late 2010," she told Green Car Advisor.
Azure, which already works with Ford on the hybrid version of the E450 commercial van due next year, will used its proprietary "ForceDrive" battery-electric powertrain for the Transit Connect EV.
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- John O'Dell October 30, 2009, 12:20 PM
- Categories:
- Batteries, Ford, Plug-ins and Electric, Smith
- Technorati Tags:
- EV
, Ford Transit Connect BEV, Transit Connect EV
October 29, 2009
We've long believed that the world of inter-city delivery trucks is an ideal place to really push for vehicle electrification - the trucks don't usually need to travel all that far and a quiet electric motor sure beats a noisy diesel, idling by the curb and spewing noxious exhaust while the driver trundles a pallet of chips or sodas into the neighborhood convenience store.
Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. thinks so, too. and says that it's hefty Newton delivery tuck is doing so well that it is migrating the battery-electric drive system into the smaller Class 3 and Class 4 commercial truck segment (think Ford F-350 and F-450 dualies outfitted with cargo boxes).
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Smith Newton Class 5 delivery truck. New models will use same cab design but smaller chassis.
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Class 3 trucks weigh in at 5-7 tons, while Class 4 trucks are in the 7- to 8-ton range.
Newton launched in the U.S. earlier this year with Class 5-8 trucks, the 7.5- to 12-ton covered delivery and utility trucks used by companies such as Coca Cola, Frito-Lay and AT&T.
Smith says its Newton electric drive system can deliver up to 150 miles of range and a top speed of up to 50 miles an hour.
Smith U.S., headquartered in Kansas City, is an offshoot of Britain's Smith Electric Vehicles, which developed the Newton and bills it as the world's largest electric truck.
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- John O'Dell October 29, 2009, 3:02 PM
- Categories:
- Plug-ins and Electric, Smith
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Trucks
, Smith Electric Vhicles, Smith Newton
July 21, 2009
The 7.5-Ton Delivery Trucks Are Largest Battery-Electric Trucks on the Road
Smith Electric Vehicles U.S
. says it will deliver the keys next week to the first of the 150-mile, 50 mph battery-electric trucks assembled at the company's plant in Kansas City.
The keys to at least six Smith Newton 7.5-ton delivery trucks will be handed over to representatives of half a dozen major companies and utility companies that have acquired the vehicles.
The ceremonial hand-off will take place Tuesday on the Capitol Mall in Washington (never lose a chance to make an impression on Congress, or at least the staffers that members of Congress will send to take a peek).
Smith U.S. is an offshoot of British EV-truck maker Smith Electric Vehicles, which holds a stake in the Kansas City-based company.
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- John O'Dell July 21, 2009, 2:01 PM
- Categories:
- Plug-ins and Electric, Smith
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Delivery Trucks
, Smith Electric Vhicles
May 6, 2009
Ford Motor Co. today said that it will spend $550 million to transform its Michigan Assembly Plant into a lean, green and flexible manufacturing facility that will build the company's new, gasoline-powered global Ford Focus and a battery-electric version of that vehicle. The conventional Focus will begin rolling off of the assembly lines in 2010 with the Ford Focus battery electric vehicle to follow in 2011.
The zero-emission Focus BEV, which is being developed in partnership with Magna International, will have a high-voltage electric motor powered by a high-capacity Lithium Ion battery pack that will plug into 110-volt or 220-volt outlets. Ford today described the vehicle as part of its plan to "develop electric vehicles for North America quickly and affordably by leveraging its global platform capability."
In addition to the battery electric car, Ford is working with Smith Electric to introduce a Transit Connect battery electric commercial vehicle into North American markets during 2010. The automobile company plans to introduce a next-generation hybrid vehicle in 2012 and a plug-in hybrid vehicle in 2012.
"We're changing from a company focused mainly on trucks and SUVs to a company with a balanced product lineup that includes even more high-quality, fuel-efficient small cars, hybrids and all-electric vehicles," said Mark Fields, president of Ford's American operations. "As customers move to more fuel-efficient vehicles, we'll be there with more of the products they really want."
The state of Michigan, Wayne County and the city of Wayne contributed more than $160 million in tax credits and grants to support Ford's renovation project. Ford credited UAW officials for "establishing a strong, progressive culture at Michigan Assembly Plant that is based on teamwork, joint problem solving and continuous improvement."
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- Greg Johnson May 6, 2009, 11:52 AM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Ford, Hybrid, Plug-ins and Electric, Smith, Tax Incentives, Transportation Alternatives
- Technorati Tags:
- Ford Electric Delivery Van
, Ford Escape Plug In, Ford EV, Ford Motor Company, Ford Plug In Hybrid, Ford Transit Connect Van
February 6, 2009
By John O'Dell, Senior Editor
Tanfield Group, whose Smith Electric vehicles subsidiary builds and markets several battery-electric delivery trucks in Europe, has incorporated a U.S. company in advance of launching a factory to build its trucks here as well.
Smith makes the Newton (right), a large covered cargo truck; the Edison, which can be configured as a panel van, open bed truck or minibus, and the Amphere, a small van based on the Ford Transit van.
A plan to launch U.S. sales with a second Ford-based truck, the Faraday, was announced last year before the global economic meltdown began and the auto industry began imploding. It apparently has been abandoned, or delayed, as Ford concentrates its efforts of stabilizing its core passenger vehicle business.
Tanfield said Smith's first U.S. truck now will be the much larger Newton.
The British company told Green Car Advisor more than a year ago that it intended to begin selling its vehicles in the U.S.
The company believes there's huge potential here as pressure increases at the local, state and federal levels for trucking companies to reduce their carbon footprint and cut exhaust-borne air pollution.
"This is where environmentally friendly trucks can make a big difference in helping clean the air," company spokesman Dan Jenkins said of Smith's concentration on the short-haul, intra-city market where big diesel delivery trucks make multiple stops and can spend hours each day idling and spewing soot and other pollutants.
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- John O'Dell February 6, 2009, 4:43 PM
- Categories:
- Emissions, Plug-ins and Electric, Smith
- Technorati Tags:
- Electric Delivery Trucks
, Smith Electric Vehicles, Tanfield Group
