Industrial electrical vehicle stalwarts head out on the road

03/06/2009 (1 d 5 h ago)

When it comes to the US roadways, hybrid vehicles have definitely found a home, and there are plans to extend their fuel-free capacity by creating plug-in hybrids and variations like the Chevy Volt . Meanwhile, Nissan is apparently planning on producing a purely electric vehicle, set to hit the market next year. As these vehicles appear on US streets, their drivers are likely to face some serious issues related to the fact that we don't have an electric infrastructure to service them.


So far, one of the big movers in the infrastructure arena has been the startup Better Place, which has cut deals with various state and national governments to roll out equipment for charging and battery swaps. Lost in the focus on consumer vehicles, however, has been the fact that, to an extent, electric vehicles are a solved problem in commercial circles, where many warehouse facilities are run entirely by electric forklifts with swappable battery packs. This week, there were a couple of signs that the companies involved in the industrial space are beginning to consider heading out on the roads.



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