Smith Electric Vehicles Extends Industry-Leading Newton Platform to Production of Class 3 and 4 Commercial Vehicles
Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. announced today the extension of its industry-leading Newton commercial vehicle platform to Class 3 and 4 models. The vehicles are now available in the U.S. and initial deliveries will take place before the end of the year.
“With this expansion, Smith is building off the success of the world-leading Smith Newton electric commercial truck platform to offer customers options for a much broader set of delivery needs,” said Bryan Hansel, CEO of Smith. “The medium-duty truck market is the real sweet spot for electric commercial vehicles and extending the class of vehicles we offer is an aggressive move to increase the addressable market with a proven vehicle platform.”
The Smith Newton is fuel-emissions-free, runs without noise or vibration, and stores electric energy during stopping through a process called regenerative braking. It has a top speed of 50 mph, a range on one battery charge in excess of 100 miles and a payload of over 16,000 pounds. The Newton is also the first commercial all-electric truck to achieve new vehicle emissions certification in California.
The Newton platform offers flexibility to meet a variety of delivery needs, from Class 3 to Class 7 trucks. By building off a single core platform, Smith will drive increased efficiencies in cost and execution, due to shared components across different models.
“Smith is choosing to put its research, development, manufacturing and marketing resources where we can get the most bang for our buck,” said Hansel. The Smith Newton is a proven platform that is allowing us to generate significant market momentum.”
Class 3 trucks have vehicle weights of between 10,001 and 14,000 pounds. Class 4 trucks range from 14,001 to 16,000 pounds.
Smith, headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a privately held company owned by Private Investors Management and The Tanfield Group Plc, based in the United Kingdom. Tanfield is the parent company of Smith Electric Vehicles in the U.K., the leading manufacturer of zero-emissions battery-electric commercial vehicles in Europe since the 1920s.
In August 2009, Smith Electric Vehicles was awarded a $10 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The money is being used for the production of all-electric, zero emissions commercial trucks for a nationwide demonstration project.
About Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation: Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation (Smith) (www.sev-us.com), a Delaware corporation, is an all-electric zero-emissions commercial truck manufacturer. The company licenses its proprietary technology from Smith Electric Vehicles in the U.K., the world’s largest manufacturer and industry leader of commercial electric vehicles. Smith is a privately held company owned by Private Investors Management, and the Tanfield Group Plc, based in the United Kingdom. Smith produces the Smith Newton – the world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck.
About Tanfield Group Plc: The Tanfield Group Plc is the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of road-going commercial electric vehicles and aerial work platforms. Tanfield is headquartered in Washington, Tyne & Wear, with operations in Europe, Scandinavia, North America, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific and Africa. It has two main divisions:
Smith Electric Vehicles was founded in 1920 and acquired by Tanfield in October 2004. Following its acquisition, Smith Electric Vehicles is developing into a world leader in new technology electric vans and trucks with greatly enhanced performance, speed and range capabilities. This makes them attractive for all fleet operators in large towns, cities and closed industrial environments. For the first time, these fleet operators have economically viable, zero emission alternatives to using diesel vans and trucks. Smith Electric Vehicles has an unrivalled UK-wide service and support network, which already maintains over 5,000 vehicles for major fleet operators. www.smithelectricvehicles.com
Powered Access contains two of the world’s most established aerial work platform brands, UpRight Powered Access and Snorkel International. UpRight is the UK’s biggest manufacturer of self-propelled aerial work platforms (also known as “cherry-pickers”, “mobile elevating work platforms”, “aerial lifts”, etc). UpRight has assembly facilities in the UK and USA, with products sold through a strong network of over 200 independent, full-service distributors across Europe, Scandinavia, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific regions. Snorkel, acquired in August 2007, has significant manufacturing capabilities along with strong sales and distribution, in North America and Australia. Tanfield has successfully extended its powered access product range and is now one of only three “full line” aerial lift manufacturers to have a significant global footprint in both the North America and EMEA regions, in what is a $7bn market. www.upright.com / www.snorkellift.com