Smith Electric Vehicles Gets $22M Federal Grant, Expanding Manufacture

In brief: Smith Electric Vehicles, a Kansas City electric truck manufacturer, received a second grant from the federal government, this one for $22 million. The money will be put towards increasing production capacity.

The word

Smith Electric Vehicles, which currently produces the Newton, a class 5 electric delivery van, received $10 million last year as a grant to begin production of the Newton in Kansas City. The company currently employs about 25 people and produces two trucks per week from its production line.

Customers driving the Newton include Coca-Cola and Frito-Lay and sales futures are up. Smith plans to increase capacity to 25 units per week and to double its workforce this year.

And so ...

Both grants are from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of its alt-fuel development efforts.

Photo credits: Smith Electric Vehicles