Spartan Fleet Vehicles and Services recently signed an exclusive supply agreement with Motiv Power Systems, a leading producer of all-electric chassis for walk-in vans, box trucks, work trucks, buses, and other specialty vehicles. The agreement provides Spartan exclusive access to Motiv’s EPIC all electric chassis in manufacturing Class 4 – Class 6 walk-in vans for a minimum of three years.
With this joint commitment, the companies can produce zero-emission, all-electric walk-in vans for fleets and expect to build hundreds of such vehicles over the course of the agreement.
“Our key customers have been asking Spartan to provide an EV solution,” said Daryl Adams, president and CEO of Spartan Motors. “This exclusive agreement allows us to apply over forty years of fleet vehicle manufacturing knowhow and our Utilimaster Work-Driven Design process to Motiv’s proven expertise and market ownership of the electric propulsion space. Together, we intend to produce innovations that will shape the future of economical and environmentally friendly fleet design.”
Motiv’s All-Electric EPIC chassis provides universal charging compatibility and secure remote telematics and diagnostics, no matter where the route leads, resulting in a walk-in van with a 100 – 150-mile range per charge and up to 30 percent gradeability.
“Through this agreement, Spartan and Motiv further demonstrate our shared vision that electric commercial vehicles are an important part of our future,” said Jim Castelaz, Motiv’s CEO.
Utilimaster and Motiv worked together in early 2017 to develop a commercially available EV walk-in van concept. At the same time, Utilimaster and Motiv jointly integrated the EV requirements into Utilimaster’s final stage chassis and body manufacturing processes, located at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bristol, Ind.
