5/28/10

New Electric Minibus Now Available From Smith


UK's first 17 seat Smith Edison minibus


  • Range up to 100 miles
  • Top speed 50mph
  • 40kwh lithium-ion battery pack
  • First vehicle sold to Essex County Council

The UK's first 17 seat, all-electric minibus is now in production. Based on the Ford Transit chassis, the Smith Edison minibus has a top speed of 50mph and a range of up to 100 miles. A full recharge takes 6-8 hours, or 3-4 hours with Smith's new fast charging technology.

Smith utilises an underlsung battery design, so that the 40 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack does not impinge on the passenger area of the vehicle.

Designed for urban operations, the Edison minibus is targeted at applications such as airport passenger transfer, tourist attractions, city trips and closed campus travel on large commercial, military, education and industrial sites.

Essex County Council has purchased the first vehicle, where it will be used for transporting people with learning disabilities, in the Harlow area. Essex County Councill's Yvonne Chappell, Head of Fleet Transport and Operations said: "Essex County Council takes sustainable transport very seriously and we want to show our residents how we can all reduce the environmental impact of our travelling.

"We are proud to be leading the way in the adoption of new electric passenger vehicle technology and to be the first local authority to put this innovative minibus into service."

See more from Smith at http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/.

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