Emissions & Efficiency

Santa Monica opts for all-electric medium truck

July 22, 2009

The City of Santa Monica has purchased the first ZeroTruck, according to the truck manufacturer Electrorides, Inc.

The City of Santa Monica has purchased the first ZeroTruck, according to the truck manufacturer Electrorides, Inc., a developer and producer of commercial electric trucks for public and private fleet operators. The medium-duty, all-electric truck is based on the Isuzu N series chassis, modified by Electroride to operate on batteries that drive an electric motor.

According to Electroride, the truck for Santa Monica will be equipped with a Scelzi utility body on the Isuzu chassis. It offers a low-cab-forward design and a fully automated transmission. The truck has a highway speed of 55 mph and an operating range of up to 100 miles, they note, thanks to the advanced lithium batteries with an onboard battery charger and regenerative braking. A UQM PowerPhase 100 Advanced Electric Motor provides the power.

"This truck meets the needs of our Water Division and the goals of our Sustainable City Plan to reduce emissions and reduce our use of petroleum,” said City of Santa Monica fleet superintendant, Rick Sikes. “A zero emission medium-duty truck is something that has never been available to us until now."

Delivery will be through South Bay Truck Center of Carson, CA, a ZeroTruck dealer. “The vehicle is a realistic solution for fleets to go ‘zero emission’ and will be used for evaluation and demonstration to other state and local governments who are expected to continue to reduce emissions with the number one choice, electric,” said Electrorides CEO Tedd Abramson. “We commendthe SCAQMD [South Coast Air Quality Management District] and Santa Monica for taking leadership positions with the plug-in electric/zero emission approach.”

About the Author

Wendy Leavitt

Wendy Leavitt joined Fleet Owner in 1998 after serving as editor-in-chief of Trucking Technology magazine for four years.

She began her career in the trucking industry at Kenworth Truck Company in Kirkland, WA where she spent 16 years—the first five years as safety and compliance manager in the engineering department and more than a decade as the company’s manager of advertising and public relations. She has also worked as a book editor, guided authors through the self-publishing process and operated her own marketing and public relations business.

Wendy has a Masters Degree in English and Art History from Western Washington University, where, as a graduate student, she also taught writing.