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There is a lot of buzz around eco-friendly passenger cars, however many manufacturers have also been working on fuel efficient and electric commercial vehicles. Here are some examples.

Navistar

Navistar has recently unveiled its first all-electric commercial truck, which is called eStar. It is a medium-duty vehicle with a range of 100 miles, and fully rechargeable in 6 to 8 hours. The truck will be used by FedEx in its Los Angeles fleet. What is important, the battery is a cassette-type one and can be changed in 20 minutes, which enables the truck to be used 24/7 if needed. Navistar has enjoyed a $39.2 million federal stimulus grant for the development of eStar as a part of the Transportation Electrification Initiative announced by President Obama. What is interesting is that in January 2010 Navistar received some federal funding again. This time the $37 million project is to help in development of a SuperTruck that is expected to provide a 50 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

CNET gets a look at one of FedEx\’s eStar

Smith Electric Vehicles

Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. Corporation has been selected by U.S Department of Energy to receive a $32 million grant for a nationwide vehicle electrification program. The funding is used to support the production of all-electric zero emissions commercial trucks. Smith’s customers will also be able to participate in a commercial electric vehicle demonstration program with the goal being to gather data on vehicles placed in service in different regions of the country.

Smith is also proud to be the manufacturer of the world’s largest battery-electric-powered truck called Newton. The truck is equipped with Lithium-ion battery cell technology. It has a top speed of 50 mph, a one-charge range of 100 miles and offers a payload of over 16,000 pounds. Additionally, Newton runs without noise or vibration and stores electric energy during stopping thanks to regenerative braking. The manufacturer claims that when compared to diesel-fueled trucks, the vehicle can give savings of up to 80% on a per-mile basis.

CNN Money Highlights Smith Electric\’s eco-friendly truck

Electric Vehicles International

Based in Stockton, California, Electric Vehicles International is the manufacturer of  all-electric medium-duty truck, the EVI MD and the all-electric walk-in van, the EVI WI. Both vehicles can offer a bit higher performance than the trucks mentioned above with a top speed of 60 mph, a range of 115 miles. The battery requires 3 to 12 hours of charging, depending on its size and charge options (110v/220v).

Will the companies change they used trucks to new all-electric vehicles? The problem is that the green trucks are much more expensive to purchase. For example the eStar costs $150,000 – three times as much as a diesel truck of comparable size. For the time being the all-electric truck industry is supported by federal grants that make the vehicles cost-effective for buyers. In the future, when the production of green trucks reach economies of scale, the cost of the battery (which is the most expensive part) should fall, making the vehicle attractive even without subsidies.

Written by the team of Mascus.com. Visit our site to find various new and used trucks for sale.

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