Smith Electric Vehicles expands US manufacturing with facility in South Bronx; New York state incentive program for commercial fleet EVs
16 November 2011
Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. will expand its US operations by adding a manufacturing facility in the South Bronx in New York State. Smith will manufacture the battery electric Newton, its medium-duty vehicle with a range of up to 150 miles at the new facility beginning in 2012. A package of city and state incentives of approximately $11 million will augment Smith’s private investment.
The new facility—Smith’s second US manufacturing, sales and service center—will not affect production or job levels at Smith’s headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.
Smith will lease a 90,000 square foot building near Hunts Point in the South Bronx and make investments in renovations, equipment, training and other project costs.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the development of a federally-funded, multi-year commercial electric vehicle (EV) buyer incentive program to accelerate adoption of commercial EVs and allow for strategic fleet conversion throughout New York State. The program, with an expected run of five years, has been specifically tailored to help companies in New York State convert significant portions of their fleets as a result of the ability to plan with vouchers available over multiple years.
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has committed $10 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for the first year, which will be offered in the form of vouchers of up to $20,000 per vehicle. The program will be managed by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and will offer voucher incentives to the purchasers of any qualified all-electric vehicle over 10,000 pounds GVW - regardless of manufacturer. The Smith Newton qualifies for this program.
Wonderful news. I always thought the economic development zone idea was the best stimulus for a severely ravaged community (disclosure: I went to school in the Bronx), and have personally seen innovative, high tech type entrepreneurs succeeding there, while enjoying some of the best Cuban sandwiches found anywhere in the world. It's a great day for the Bronx.
Posted by: E-Biker | 16 November 2011 at 01:39 PM