Australia’s SEA Electric takes massive order for 100 electric trucks

Australian electric truck and bus company SEA Electric has taken its largest order to date from US-based commercial electric fleet provider Zeem Solutions, announcing an order for 100 Hino 195 EVs on Friday.

The Hino 195 EVs, which offer up to 320km driving range, use SEA Electric’s 120a SEA-Drive powertrain built onto a Hino 195 medium duty truck body, and will be constructed in the USA by North Carolina-based Fontaine Modifications on behalf of Zeem Solutions.

With 80kW continuous power, 128 kW maximum power and a hefty maximum torque of 1,500Nm, they will be used by Zeem Solutions as part of a turnkey solution for fleet operators.

In addition to sourcing and providing customised commercial electric vehicles to fleet partners, Zeem Solutions also provides charging, servicing and and lease financing as part of a packaged service to make transition to electric vehicles easier for fleet operators.

The 100 Hino 195 EVs will first be deployed in California by Zeem Solutions, says Zeem Solutions CEO Paul Gioupis.

“We’re excited to be adding 100 all-electric Hino 195 EV’s from SEA Electric to our fleet in order to service the California market”, he said in a note by email.

“We are starting in our Los Angeles and Sacramento locations because we can efficiently service our trucks as well as inventory spare vehicles to lessen downtime for customers.

“Once we have successfully deployed in Los Angeles and Sacramento, we will be rolling additional units out in San Francisco and San Diego.”

SEA Electric founder and president Tony Fairweather says that the deployment to Los Angeles and Sacramento is also thanks to progressive acceleration programs offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and clean transport market accelerator Calstart.

“SEA Electric is honoured to receive our first 3-digit order from Zeem Solutions, with all units to be delivered throughout 2020 starting in the first quarter,” said Fairweather in a statement to the press.

“The Hino 195 EV’s will be deployed in California, a reflection on the excellent incentive program facilitated by CARB and CALSTART.”

Through the CARB’s Hybrid and Zero Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP), vendors and OEMs are able to offer zero emissions commercial vehicles to participating fleets.

To date, more than 4,000 zero emissions vehicles have been provided to more than 1,400 fleets through the scheme.

Sea Electric now has more than 30 zero emissions options available through the program, ranging from electric buses and shuttles such as the Sea E-450 EV to refuse and delivery trucks including the Hino 195 EVs.

By deploying commercial electric vehicles via the CARB initiative as part of a turnkey solution, Zeem Solutions allows fleets to take advantage of the fact that electric vehicles have fewer moving parts and therefore lower operating costs, not to mention helping them to avoid fluctuating fuel costs at the same time as reducing emissions.

You can listen to an interview with Tony Fairweather in a recent episode of The Driven podcast “Why all delivery vans are going electric.