AmeriPride, which has been using its first electric delivery truck since November, reports that the zero emission vehicle has been running great with no incidents.Area business leaders and government officials have been invited to an open house at AmeriPride’s Vernon location in California this week to see the company’s first all-electric delivery truck and learn more about their plans to expand the use of zero-emission vehicles.
Motiv recently delivered the first of ten electric step vans as a part of AmeriPride’s continuing mission to reduce its carbon footprint and become an industry leader in environmental sustainability.
“AmeriPride is committed to the environment and the communities where we live and work,” says Bill Evans, President and CEO of AmeriPride. “As one of the biggest operators in our industry, we are setting the standard for clean operations and continue to make improvements to our delivery operations and invest resources to test and help advance new green technologies.”
The company’s new delivery vehicles feature up to 20 percent gradeability, 80 miles of range and a 50 percent battery charge time of 2.5 hours. Installed by Morgan Olson on a Ford F59 Chassis, the walk-in step vans are the first Motiv-powered vehicles installed on a previously-used body.
“The F59 chassis from Ford is incredibly versatile and we’re excited to demonstrate an all-electric option with these AmeriPride trucks,” says Jim Castelaz, founder and CEO of Motiv Power Systems.
“It provides a good example to the regional delivery services community that there are real things a company can do to improve regional air quality and reduce fuel costs.”
As business leaders and government officials meet this Thursday at 2 p.m. to learn more about AmeriPride’s growing zero emission fleet, they’ll also have an opportunity to take a ride in their latest electric delivery truck.
AmeriPride chose the Vernon market for this pilot based on route density and infrastructure, financial incentives and the region’s poor air quality. The purchase of the ten all-electric walk-in vans was made possible through a grant from the California Energy Commission.
“We are extremely excited to pilot the new electric delivery trucks at our facility,” says Annette Casemero, general manager of the Vernon branch. “Our first truck has been running daily routes since it was delivered in November and has been running great, with zero service incidents or calls needed. Adding electric vehicles to our fleet complements our expanding alternative fuel program and we look forward to adding additional electric vehicles to our fleet in the coming year.”
Other initiatives the company is implementing at Vernon and other branches include propane, compressed natural gas and hybrid vehicles; trailer skirting and double-decker semi trailers; fuel efficient sedans for the service team and the installation of telematics technology and route optimization software to reduce mileage and increase efficiency.
In addition to the F59 chassis, Motiv has upfit packages available for the Ford E450 and Crane Carrier COE2 Class 8 chassis. Configurations include all the components required to transform a chassis to zero-emission all-electric drive and are professionally installed to OEM standards at the time of the vehicle’s manufacture.
The Motiv All-Electric Powertrain was named one of Popular Science’s Best of What’s New technologies and has been successfully used in school buses, shuttle buses, delivery trucks, maintenance trucks and North America’s only all-electric refuse truck in the City of Chicago.
For more details about the open house on Thursday, February 18, please contact [email protected].
