SEA Electric showcases SV6 van

SEA Electric has revealed its new SV6 Class 6 battery-electric step van at North America’s largest commercial vehicle exhibition, Work Truck Week 2022, featuring vehicle-to-grid capability and a claimed unladen range of 274km.
 
The automotive technology company, which was founded in Australia in 2012, has rolled out its electric power-system technology (SEA-Drive) in urban delivery and distribution fleets, including several medium and heavy duty commercial electric vehicles – as well as front-powered school buses – in several countries, including here, the USA, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia and South Africa.

The now California-based company, which recently set up a base in England to spearhead its expansion into the European market, claims the SV6 EV will be “a game-changer in North America’s step van market.”
 
At the heart of the Class 6 SV6 EV is the proprietary SEA-Drive power-system, which due to its medium-voltage architecture and no requirement for active thermal management, is claimed to be the “lightest, most cost-effective and most efficient system available in the battery-electric last-mile delivery segment”.

Powered by the SEA-Drive 120b power-system, the 250kW/2500Nm SEA SV6 EV covers Class 6 applications with a gross vehicle weight rating of just under 11,800kg.

Its 138kWh battery pack, which is said to deliver an unladen range of up to 274 km, has vehicle-to-grid charging capabilities and is configured for fast charging at up to 100kW.
 
The batteries come with a five-year warranty, while the drive systems are covered for three years or 80,000 km, the company said in a statement.
 
“With the SV6 EV, we bring to the market a solution that has been proven by over a million miles of real-world use, with the package set to revolutionise the important step van market across North America,” said SEA Electric founder and chief executive officer Tony Fairweather.
 
“The environmental possibilities of the SEA-Drive are simple – our mission is to eliminate approximately 1.1 billion kg of CO2 emissions over the next five years.
 
“When compared to a traditional internal combustion engined vehicle, the benefits extend far beyond energy efficiencies. From an operational perspective, lower maintenance and running costs are a given, with the elimination of diesel consumption and fewer moving parts minimising service costs.
 
“Our users can fully expect to recover any purchase price premium within a maximum five years, plus this return is often bolstered further depending on state or local initiatives available.
 
“With our extensive deployments to date in the step van field, we have already seen the significant benefits of SEA Electric ownership – the entire shift to EV is on the horizon, and we offer to the marketplace a dependable partnership, today.”
 
The company further announced that a mobile app and fleet portal would soon be released to complement the onboard telemetry.

Plans are also in place to roll out Class 3, 4 and 5 step-van models (SEA SV3 EV, SEA SV4 EV and SEA SV5 EV).

Last year, SEA Electric launched the SEA 300 EV and the SEA 500 EV in Australia, which are sold through a dedicated SEA Electric network of 15 dealerships.

More recently (February 2022), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) made $127.9 million of the Future Fuels Fund available to help local light and heavy fleet operators shift to new zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) over the next four years.