Sea Electric launches step van in the US

Australian founded and US-based electric truck drive train manufacturer SEA Electric has revealed its SV6 EV Step Van developed for the electric delivery van segment in the United States.

At the heart of the Class 6 SV6 EV is the proprietary SEA-Drive power-system, which leads the industry in terms of range, driving performance, and environmental credentials, with zero local emissions of carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide, according to the company.

Thanks to no requirement for battery cooling, SEA Electric’s solution is claimed to be the lightest, most cost-effective and most efficient system available in the battery-electric last-mile delivery segment.

CEO Tony Fairweather said: “With the SV6 EV, we bring to the market a solution that has been proven by over a million miles of real-world use, with the package set to revolutionise the important step van market across North America.

“The environmental possibilities of the SEA-Drive power-system are simple – our mission is to eliminate approximately 2.5 billion lbs of CO2 emissions over the next five years.

“When compared to a traditional internal combustion engined vehicle the benefits extend far beyond energy efficiencies. From an operational perspective, lower maintenance and running costs, are a given, with the elimination of diesel consumption and fewer moving parts minimising service costs.”

Powered by the SEA-Drive 120b power-system, the SEA SV6 EV covers applications with a GVWR up to 26,000lbs (Class 6), with 335hp and 1,845 lb-ft performance ratings.

The 138kWh battery pack for the platform delivers an unladen range of up to 274km, complete with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging capabilities, while also configured for fast charging at up to 100kW.

The batteries come with a full five-year warranty, with the warranty of the systems covering three years or 80,000km.

Fairweather said: “Our users can fully expect to recover any purchase price premium within a maximum 5 years, plus this return is often bolstered further depending on state or local initiatives available.

“With our extensive deployments to date in the step van field, we have already seen the significant benefits of SEA Electric ownership – the entire shift to EV is on the horizon, and we offer to the marketplace a dependable partnership, today.”

The system’s proprietary management software is designed to optimise power distribution to the various sub-systems of the vehicles, with this energy conservation backed up by passive and active stages of regenerative braking, which charge the medium voltage batteries while the vehicle slows.

A mobile app and fleet portal will soon be released to complement the onboard telemetry.

Plans are afoot for a Class 3, 4 and 5 step-van solution (SEA SV3 EV, SEA SV4 EV and SEA SV5 EV) also.

Picture: Sea Electric

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