Smith Edison: the world's first sub-3.5t zero emission van
Submitted by MikeWhelan on 8 June, 2009 - 17:07
Smith Electric Vehicles is the world's largest manufacturer of road-going commercial electric vehicles, evolving zero emission vehicles since 1920 - and there are thousands of Smith vehicles around the world in operation today. In 2007 with Edison, they built the world's first sub-3.5t zero emission van and minibus - on the tried and tested Ford Transit platform.
The Edison can accelerate from 0-30mph faster than a diesel vehicle, making it ideal for urban operations. Congestion charge free and a GVW of less than 3.5t means that drivers don't need a Class C licence.
Sainsbury's Online operates the largest fleet of electric delivery vans in Britain, utilising Smith Edison vans for home shopping delivery in London. An early adopter of EVs, Sainsbury's is now ordering an additional 50 electric vans - the largest order of its kind by a UK retailer. So if the only reason you own a car is to do the weekly shop, you could save time, money and carbon by doing it online!
Scottish & Southern Energy ordered the Smith Edison for use in its fleet of 6,000 commercial vehicles - saving an estimated minimum of 5,000kg of CO2 per year - the equivalent of the annual CO2 footprint of a small UK household. As the UK's leading generator of renewable energy, Scottish and Southern Energy will be recharging the van using clean, renewable electricity, ensuring the vehicle is truly carbon neutral.
