Foster City, California – Two commercial truck upfitters have begun using Motiv Power Systems all-electric powertrains gitted to Ford E-450 chassis-cabs. California Truck Equipment Co. (CTEC) in Downey, California, has begun offering all-electric maintenance work trucks, and Rockport Commercial Vehicles in Elkhart, Indiana, has begun offering an electric box truck
These builders join Morgan Olson, TransTech Bus, Ameritrans Bus, and Cumberland Service Center as vehicle builders employing the Motiv All-Electric Powertrain to offer OEM electric versions of their vehicles. Zero-emission vehicles equipped with Motiv All-Electric Powertrains have shown a reduction of total operating costs by up to 87% compared to diesel trucks.
The first All-Electric CTEC work truck was recently delivered to the City of Santa Ana, California, as a part of a California Energy Commission grant that also supplied the first three shuttle buses for the Mountain View Community Shuttle program (partially funded by Google). The All-Electric work truck is used regularly by the City of Santa Ana Parks and Recreation Department.
CTEC President Rick Anderson says, "The Motiv-powered work truck looks and functions just like its gasoline counterpart, making it simple for our customers to fit them into their existing fleets. The maintenance truck for the City of Santa Ana has proved to be very reliable, and we look forward to building more."
Rockport All-Electric Box Trucks will allow fleet operators located in and visiting the San Francisco Bay Area to gain a first-hand experience of what it's like to drive a state-of-the-art all-electric vehicle.
"A new, zero-emission vehicle can fit seamlessly within existing infrastructure," says Jim Castelaz, CEO of Motiv Power Systems. "Commercial fleets rely on consistency within their vehicles and operations, so having familiar OEM vehicle builders like Rockport and CTEC now offering all-electric vehicles is a game changer. It minimizes personnel training and maintenance on these new all-electric vehicles while maximizing fuel savings and reducing air pollution."
Because the City of Santa Ana maintenance work truck and the box truck share the same Ford E-450 chassis, they have similar specifications. The vehicles feature 1,200Nm of torque and a top speed of 60 miles per hour. Each has a GVWR of 14,500 lb, and a payload capacity of 7,890 lb for the maintenance truck and 7,600 lb for the box truck. The on-board charger can charge the vehicles up to 50% within two hours and a full charge within eight hours, without the need to install costly charging equipment at the fleet depot.
In addition to the Ford E-450 chassis, the Motiv All-Electric Powertrain has higher-power upfit packages available for the Ford F59 and Crane Carrier COE2 class 8 chassis. These configurations include batteries, electric motors, universal charging compatibility, and electric power for hydraulics, heating and air conditioning units, plus brackets and cables.
Source: Motiv Power Systems