Product Support engineers at Smith Electric Vehicles can also remotely conduct trend analysis, to effectively monitor all aspects of vehicle system performance.

Smith Telemetry represents a paradigm shift in the product support of electric commercial vehicles. This is a very cost-effective method for fleet managers to streamline the management of commercial EVs. For the fleet manager, this system delivers unprecedented real time information on each electric vehicle’s location and state of charge

—Kevin Harkin, Sales Director for Smith Electric Vehicles

Smith Electric Vehicles already carries out thorough end-of-line testing. By offering all the required data at the push of a button, Smith Telemetry will make this testing process quicker and more efficient.

The first Smith Telemetry systems in Europe will be fitted to the fleet of Smith Edison vans, being delivered this summer through the UK Government’s Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP). The largest supplier of electric light commercial vehicles (LCVs) to a major UK Government programme, Smith is supplying 47 of its Smith Edison vans into Phase One of the LCVPP. Smith is one of three companies that are supplying a total of 70 electric LCVs in Phase One.

Based on the Ford Transit, the Smith Edison is powered by a 90 kW electric motor and lithium-ion battery pack. Edison can typically achieve 80 miles on a full charge, and can be fully recharged in as little as three hours. The LCVPP vehicles are all panel vans, but Smith also offers Edison as a minibus and a chassis cab—suitable for tipper, dropside, caged, box and refrigerated bodies.

Phase One of LCVPP offers subsidies to select public sector bodies, giving them the chance to purchase electric and hybrid vans at the same price as the equivalent diesel vehicles. Organizations engaged in Phase One include Royal Mail, Transport for London, Warwick University and the councils of Camden, Gateshead, Islington, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle, Wakefield and Warwick.

At the same time, workers at Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp in Kansas City will fit the new telemetry system to the larger Smith Newton trucks, for customers in North America.

Governments around the world are funding programs to evaluate electric vehicle technology. Smith Telemetry provides all the data logging opportunities required for vehicles to participate in these programs.

Smith is also carrying out a retrofit programme, upfitting Smith Telemetry to the existing parc of Edison and Newton vehicles in Europe, Scandinavia and South East Asia.