EV Fleet Inc. 'Condor' - 1/2 ton electric truck built in NC

This is exciting news I came across yesterday - a new company called EV Fleet Inc. will begin producing an electric 1/2 ton truck chassis, with several different cargo options:

EV Fleet, Inc.: | Electric Pickup Trucks for Fleets.

http://insideevs.com/ev-fleet-readys-launch-100-miles-bev-light-truck/

It has a 50kWh pack, and unusually, it has a 5-speed manual transmission. They claim it should have about 100 mile range at 65MPH. It has a flatbed option, a "pickup" option (that seems to lack rear wheel fenders), a box van option - and this is also available with 3kW of solar PV panels (that fold up into position) to power tools on the job site.

The cab is steel frame with a body made with a foam composite that provides ~R11 thermal insulation. It also has a large front storage area - a "frunk" to use Tesla's term.





Other pictures here:
EV Fleet, Inc.: | Electric Truck Gallery - EV Fleet, Inc.:
http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2014/08/01/ev-fleet-finds-a-home-at-reventure-park-as-market.html

A couple of brief videos here, and a local news report:
EV Fleet, Inc.: | Videos - EV Fleet, Inc.:

Some renderings and other images:




Last but not least, the 'Condor' starts at $50,000.

NeilBlanchard said:

This is exciting news I came across yesterday - a new company called EV Fleet Inc. will begin producing an electric 1/2 ton truck chassis

Click to expand...

They forgot to include a charging port when they added the fiberglass aerodynamic hood and fenders.

This company, EV Fleet Inc., replaced Vision Motor Cars that was making the same claims in 2010.
It looks like EV Fleet's "Condor" truck is an updated version of the "VMC Everest," an electric conversion of a foreign made gas commercial vehicle, which might explain why it has a 5-speed manual transmission.
The cab of the "Condor" looks like it came from a 1994 Ford Ranger.
Here's some YouTube videos showing how the "VMC Everest" truck has changed through the years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdEK_wSLm_s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-cFnIeVBy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noM5Vq-N1mY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfrW4z4u2LU
According to the EV Fleet website, you can "Be a Signature Customer by purchasing a reservation for your Condor" for $2,500.00, and will then be able to sign a "Condor purchase agreement."

A google search of the CEO of EV Fleet (and Vision Motor Cars), Brooks Agnew, leads to this thread on Metabunk.org:
https://www.metabunk.org/threads/debunked-brooks-agnew.842/
I'm not sure what the "Condor" will be when one is actually built, but the "VMC Everest" never got beyond a basic electric vehicle conversion.

Thanks for the sobering information. There is a lot of chances for con games, I know. Time will tell.

NeilBlanchard said:

It has a 50kWh pack, and unusually, it has a 5-speed manual transmission. They claim it should have about 100 mile range at 65MPH.

Click to expand...

I thought something didn't quite add up when you first posted this, but I bit my tongue ;-)

The 5 speed is more than unusual - If it needed a transmission at all, two speeds should be plenty. Sounds like a not too well thought out 'conversion' to me. How do you manage only 100 miles from a 50Kw pack?

Can't find any information about the drive train, other than the bit about the 'heavy duty' 5 speed transmission - You don't suppose this is a DC motor powered conversion? That would explain the need for the gearbox. Who in their right mind would pay $50K for any DC powered EV?

For $50K and 50kw, you would expect Tesla-like range and a much more sophisticated 'truck'. I'll be surprised if they build more than a single prototype because I just don't think the numbers add up so a saleable vehicle

Don