Electric truck company lands in Stockton

The latest entrant in California’s fledgling electric-vehicle industry officially opened its doors today.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and other politicos were on hand as Electric Vehicles International unveiled its new U.S. production facility in Stockton — the town EVI now calls home after moving from Austin, Texas.

In partnership with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp., a truck manufacturer owned by German auto giant Daimler, EVI plans to convert medium-duty delivery trucks to all-electric operation.

Although it has no orders in hand yet, the company said it expects to deliver 1,000 converted trucks by the end of next year.

EVI expects to employ about 150 people at its Stockton operation, and create 300 more jobs in California at suppliers and other businesses.

An EVI spokesman said the converted trucks cost between $120,000 and $180,000, depending in part on the size of the lithium-ion battery pack the customer orders. The trucks come with ranges of 60, 80 and 115 miles, depending on battery size.

Other companies are already pursuing plans to make electric vehicles in California. Tesla Motors, based in the Bay Area, is looking for a location in Southern California to build its Model S electric sedan, and Aptera Motors plans to build its three-wheeled 2e two-seater at a facility in Vista.

There are also several companies that specialize in converting hybrid cars into plug-in hybrids, which can travel a short distance under electric power.

EVI plans to jump into the plug-in hybrid business too, and is also looking at doing electric conversions of school buses and port equipment.

“California is the perfect location for electric-vehicle manufacturing,” said Ricky Hanna, chief executive of EVI-USA. “As the world’s leading location for adopting green technology and promoting sustainable transportation, California is where our customers are and where we need to be.”

-- Martin Zimmerman

Photo credit: Electric Vehicles International

Comments

[Chris]

Even as a defender of electric vehicles and transportation, I have a hard time understanding how this business plan is expected to prove successful. Limited range is tolerable in an electric car because we use them primarily for commuting to and from work or for short errands, but trucking is different. Either on the highway or in-town deliveries, companies buy these trucks in order to work them all day long - they're not worth the expense otherwise. Any company with a real-world need for a medium duty truck is going to look at that range limitation and laugh.

I've long thought that medium duty trucks like this would be the perfect platform for a series-hybrid drivetrain, but never for pure electric. The hard part's already done. Just put a small, constant-speed diesel motor in there driving a generator and get rid of half the batteries. Range problem solved and it'll probably be a lot cheaper

[Matthew Arguello]

Thats Good that Cali is fixing this problem. Where would people apply if they are unemployed?

[Sapphire Dragon]

“As the world’s leading location for adopting green technology and promoting sustainable transportation, California is where our customers are and where we need to be.”

Well, hopefully they also realize that the every single eco-activist doesn't live in CA. Some of us live everywhere around the US (and even overseas!) so if their company becomes very successful, they should consider expanding to other states. I understand where they're coming from to start up in CA, however.

[Chris]

Do eco-activists do a lot of trucking? I appreciate the effort, and I'm sure there are a lot of environmentally-conscious companies out there that would pay a little extra to move their cargo more efficiently and with less polution, but aside from their PR value, these trucks are all but useless.

I'm sure that if someone in another state wanted to buy a truck from EVI, they'd be happy to sell it to them, but it would have to be loaded on a fossil fuel-powered truck and carried there because under it's own power, it would take 3 days just to get to Las Vegas.