The Shyft Group on Tuesday unveiled plans to bring to market an all-electric purpose-built Class 3 chassis platform designed to serve a wide array of medium-duty truck markets, from last mile parcel delivery fleets to work trucks, passenger busses, recreational vehicles, and more.
Shyft Innovations, The Shyft Group's dedicated mobility research and development team, will introduce a purpose-built flat modular EV chassis to any specialty vehicle body builder. The company says the EV-powered chassis features customizable length and wheelbase, making it well suited for a variety of vehicle types.
Additionally, the chassis’ modular design can accommodate multiple GVWR classifications, based on build out and usage. With this high degree of configurability, the all-electric chassis is adaptable to last mile delivery, work truck, mass transit, recreational vehicle, and other emerging EV markets.
Vehicle prototypes are expected to make their way into customer accounts for route testing early in 2022 with production expected to begin in middle of 2023, the company says.
Shyft Group CEO Daryl Adams says the company listened to customers and the industry at large when designing the chassis to address an unmet need in the specialty vehicles market.
“We gained valuable insight from our long-term customer relationships to develop an EV chassis that will help all customers meet green mandates head-on," he says. "With a rich history in chassis engineering, body builders trust our deep domain expertise and our ability to deliver a reliable purpose-built EV platform that will deliver inherent efficiencies that positively impact the bottom line for fleet customers and owner operators alike."
Additionally, Adams says "We believe this multi-dimensional platform has the power to fast-track EV adoption within the vocation-specific specialty vehicle category. It will be made domestically by a proven team of skilled tradespeople already building today’s most successful fleets."
