SEA Electric has marked a turning point in its company history with the first Ford F-59 100 percent electric van in production at Ford's Detroit Chassis Plant.

SEA Electric CEO Tony Fairweather said, "this is an exciting step forward for SEA Electric's global footprint and a positive result for our USA operations who are currently working towards fulfilling several orders in the pipeline."

The F-59 EV is being built on a Morgan Olson walk-in van body and will be deployed in Fall, 2019 for delivery routes in the greater Detroit area with a leading package delivery company.

The van will be powered by a SEA Drive 120b power-system and boasts 150kW of continuous power and 250kW maximum power, and 2500 Nm maximum torque. With a range of up to 220 miles (350 km), zero emissions, fewer moving parts and lower running costs, the 100 percent electric van is practical for short stop-start delivery runs.

Charge time for the batteries is four to six hours using a 19.2kW single phase 240V on board charger.

David Brosky, SEA Electric's regional director — North America said "We're confident the fleet customer will love the overall performance of this SEA-Drive powered delivery van. We anticipate a very successful trial which will lead to substantial follow-on orders from fleet customers within the next 6 to 12 months."

John Knudtson, Morgan Olson's director of business development, said, "We see a growing interest, within our portfolio of walk-in step van customers, to include electrified work trucks within their fleets. We're pleased to be working with Sea Electric on this new Ford F59 electric chassis. In the past, we've built numerous step van bodies on various alternative powertrains and are pleased with how our body has adapted to the new Sea Electric platform."

SEA Electric is an Australian automotive technology company that locally develops and assembles 100 percent electric-powered vans, commuter busses, and light/medium duty rigid truck models using its SEA-Drive power-systems. Additionally, the company also works closely with a selection of leading American truck companies and brands including Ford, Isuzu and Chevrolet to engineer and locally assemble SEA Electric power-systems to their models.

SEA Electric head office operates from a facility in Melbourne with plans under way for a large-scale assembly facility in the Latrobe Valley in regional Victoria.

For information, call 586/945-2061 or visit www.sea-electric.com.

This story also appears on Truck and Trailer Guide.

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