Image courtesy of Boulder Electric Vehicle

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Boulder Electric Vehicle [4] has sold its first commercial, battery-powered truck.   In development for nearly two years, the DV-500 was sold to Precision Plumbing & Heating [5]of Gunbarrel, Colorado.  Precision Plumbing plans on replacing its current diesel delivery vans with 20 of the all-electric delivery trucks over the next several years.

Boulder Electric Vehicle’s DV-500

The 2-ton capacity DV-500 has a range of up to 120 miles on a single charge. Its 80 kilowatt-hour lithium iron phosphate battery, mounted underneath the vehicle, can store three times more energy than lead-acid batteries.   Boulder Electric Vehicle’s CEO Carter Brown said, "This is the first electric truck in the world that has a maximum speed of 70 mph. This is not a glorified golf cart."

Other features of the DV-500 include LED lighting throughout the vehicle, which means lighting will more than likely never have to be replaced.  Its side door makes entry and exit easy and safe for the delivery driver.  Its all-electric power steering means no fluids.  In fact, there are only three fluids in the vehicle – break fluid, differential gear oil and windshield washer fluid.  And with five main components, less maintenance is required.

Designed from the ground up, many of the vehicle’s components are made in America.  With a sticker price of about $70,000, the DV-500 has a lifespan of about three times that of its diesel competitor.  Besides low maintenance and possible tax credits, the estimated cost to operate the vehicle is between 3 and 8 cents per mile.

The Colorado-based company is producing four purpose-built, all-electric models - the Electric Delivery Van, the 15-passenger Shuttle, a Service Body, and a Flat Bed.