Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corp. announced Monday, March, 2, its plan to assemble and market all-electric zero-emissions commercial vehicles in North America. SEV U.S. Corp says it initially will focus its production on battery-electric-powered vehicles for depot-based route delivery fleets. The company says it soon will announce a site for its production facility and will begin production using chassis from multiple vehicle manufacturers.
In other company news, Smith and Ford both announced that an all-electric version of the new (to U.S. markets) Ford Transit Connect will be available in 2010, equipped with Smith Electric battery and drive systems. Ford predicts the all-electric vehicle will have an estimated “useful” range of around 100 miles before recharging is required.
