William B. Cassidy, Senior Editor | Mar 06, 2012 4:10PM EST
Smith Electric Vehicles expanded its line of commercial trucks, introducing the Newton Step Van at the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis Tuesday.
FedEx Express will be the first customer to deploy the all-electric step vans, which the company will roll out in select markets throughout 2012, SEV said.
Kansas City, Mo.-based SEV and FedEx did not say how many of the vans, which will run up to 100 miles on a single charge, FedEx Express will deploy this year.
The Newton Step Van features Smith’s proprietary battery-based technology and a walk-in body manufactured by Indiana-based truck-body maker Utilimaster.
Utilimaster already builds hybrid electric vehicles, converting Ford E450 vans for Azure Dynamics, and a fuel-efficient, light-weight diesel van called the Reach.
The Newton Step Van can be specified for gross vehicle weights between 14,000 and 26,000 pounds, SEV said. The company also offers a light-duty Newton truck.
The Newton has been deployed and tested as an urban pickup and delivery vehicle by several companies, including Coca-Cola, Duane Reade and New Deal Logistics.
Contact William B. Cassidy at wcassidy@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter at @wbcassidy_joc
