NOVI — The Shyft Group Inc. will unveil its electric delivery truck at a March trade show in Indiana ahead of route testing in the coming months and anticipated production next year.
The Novi-based specialty vehicle manufacturer serving the commercial, retail and service vehicle markets with operations in Charlotte will unveil its delivery truck at the NTEA Work Truck Week trade show in Indianapolis in early March. The new truck will be built upon the company’s proprietary Class 3 electric vehicle chassis.
The unveiling comes as automakers descend upon the increasingly competitive electrified commercial fleet vehicle sector to meet consumer demand.
“Unable to find a viable EV chassis option in the market, we decided to build our own,” Shyft Group CEO Daryl Adams said in a statement. “We developed our proof of concept by leveraging nearly 50 years of experience in custom chassis production and last-mile delivery and will put prototypes in our customers’ hands for testing and validation in the 2nd half of 2022.
“Leveraging the infrastructure that supports our coast-to-coast manufacturing and service footprint, we’re poised to produce at scale to support the sharply rising demand for last-mile delivery vehicles as well as our customers’ carbon neutral goals.”
Shyft Group (Nasdaq: SHYF) also says its vehicles will include an industry-first portable power cube to provide additional charging.
Prototypes of the walk-in delivery van, which has a range of 150 to 175 miles, are expected to be available for route testing in the coming months. Shyft Group plans to start production in 2023, noting that the vehicles are configurable to accommodate last-mile delivery, work trucks, mass transit and recreational purposes.
Shyft Group’s release comes as automakers look to capitalize on the emerging electric fleet vehicle market. This week, Ford Motor Co. announced that it has started shipping its E-Transit cargo van that’s being produced in Kansas City.
Source: https://mibiz.com/sections/manufacturing/shyft-group-prepares-to-unveil-electric-delivery-truck
