Shyft to manufacture Blue Arc delivery trucks in Michigan
US vehicle manufacturer Shyft plans to invest $16 million in its Charlotte, Michigan, plant to roll out commercial vehicles from its Blue Arc EV Solution brand in the future.
The plant is currently home to seven production lines, including walk-in vans, RV chassis and work truck chassis. With the expansion and modernisation of the plant, Shyft Group will be able to build up to 3,000 electric vehicles per year there.
The expansion of the Charlotte manufacturing facility is supported by co-investment and business incentives from the City of Charlotte, the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). “That Charlotte will be home to this important commercial segment of the EV vehicle market is fantastic news,” said Charlotte Mayor Michael Armitage.
Blue Arc EV has developed a scalable design for its vans, which are available in Class 3 to Class 5 configurations with body lengths ranging from 12 to 22 feet. According to the company, the fleet has been designed with the last mile, parcel and goods delivery to the end customer, in particular, in mind.
The battery comes from Proterra. The US manufacturer supplies its H-series battery system, which gives the delivery van a range of 150 to 175 miles, or about 24 to 280 kilometres. Models with additional batteries and thus longer ranges are available.
Production of the first Blue Arc vans is scheduled to begin in mid-2023. The company had already received a pre-order from Randy Marion Automotive Group for 2,000 electric vans in US vehicle classes 3, 4 and 5 last year.
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