New electric van

Smith Electric Vehicles has unveiled a new all-electric van - the Newton Step Van. It has been announced that FedEx will be the first customer to use the van, starting deployment in the USA in the second half of 2012.[caption id="attachment_5368" align="aligncenter" width="398" caption="The new Newton Step Van in FedEx colours"]

[/caption]The Newton Step Van features a customised walk-in body and a range of up to 160km.A recent study conducted by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA found that electric vehicles can cost 9 to 12 percent less to operate than trucks powered by diesel engines, when used to make deliveries on an everyday basis in big cities.