Efficient Drivetrains, Inc. (EDI) today announced the availability of a Class 3 utility truck based upon EDI’s world-first PHEV drivetrain that provides 100 percent OEM performance and 100 percent zero emissions during city and highway driving, while also reducing emissions and fuel use by up to 80 percent.
The vehicle is an industry-first PHEV, built upon one of the most popular Light Duty Class 3 Detroit OEM commercial fleet trucks. It is the only Class 3 commercial work truck in the world that has 30-40 miles of all-electric range and delivers zero emissions.
The vehicle also features a series-parallel extended range of 300 miles, bi-directional charging, 50-120 kW of grid reliable exportable power, and enough battery capacity to operate vehicle accessories and job site work tools without idling the base diesel engine.
EDI built their PHEV drivetrain system in response to increasing pressure from the utility industry to green their fleets using electricity as a primary fuel. National, state, and local governing bodies are aggressively advancing regulations to evolve towards a zero vehicle emissions future, prompting many utility and telecom fleet operators to seek out solutions that use electricity as a primary fuel. In response, EDI developed a range of medium- and heavy-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) that offer significant emissions reductions with no corresponding loss in vehicle performance. Continuing that trend, EDI has recently added a light-duty work truck to its PHEV lineup, giving utility and telecom providers access to a wider range of vehicles to meet their needs. EDI’s utility solution set is expansive, spanning class 3 light duty, class 4-6 medium duty, and class 7-8 heavy-duty commercial work trucks.
In addition to providing significant emissions and fuel-use reductions with no corresponding loss in vehicle performance, EDI’s entire PHEV lineup can be used to store electrical energy for other purposes without affecting driving range. EDI’s Power Drive allows the vehicle to generate useful power for up to 12 hours idle-free for a variety of stationary uses and power restoration during natural disaster recovery, mass transportation industry power outages, and planned and unplanned electrical outages. The vehicles are also capable of charging other pure electric vehicles when needed. Available in multiple configurations, EDI’s line of high-performance PHEV trucks also offer a variety of additional in-demand solutions, including jobsite idle elimination, 24+ hours of jobsite ePTO, the industry’s only parallel-series drivetrain architecture, and proprietary control software and algorithms that efficiently coordinate all vehicle components for optimum fuel economy and emissions reductions.