The last time we had anything to do with the SV6 it was a sporty Holden Commodore.
This time around SV6 is the name of an Australian-manufactured electric van that has just made its debut in the United States.
SEA Electric has revealed details of the all new SEA SV6 EV at Work Truck Week 2022 — North America’s largest work truck show.
Founded in 2012 and based in Los Angeles, SEA is widely recognised as a market leader in the electrification of commercial vehicles on a global basis.
SEA launched its first model in 2017 and has since released several medium and heavy duty commercial electric vehicles including delivery trucks, garbage trucks, tipper trucks, tilt tray trucks, reefer trucks, cherry picker trucks, shuttle buses, cargo vans and passenger vans.
Its proprietary electric powertrain, known as SEA-Drive, is described as the world’s most cost effective and proven electric power-system.
In March, 2021 the company launched two SEA Electric badged vehicles in Australia, the SEA 300 EV and the SEA 500 EV — to be sold through a dedicated SEA Electric dealer network of 15 dealerships in Australia.
In December, SEA received an order from US school bus dealer Midwest Transit Equipment (MTE) to convert 10,000 existing school buses to electric drive.
SEA’s latest model, the SV6 EV has the makings of being a game-changer in North America’s competitive step van market.
Thanks to its medium-voltage architecture and no requirement for active thermal management, SEA Electric’s solution is the lightest, most cost-effective and most efficient system available in the battery-electric last-mile delivery segment.
“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 revolutionize the important step van market across North America,” Founder and CEO of SEA Electric, Tony Fairweather, said.
“The environmental possibilities of the SEA-Drive power-system are simple – our mission is to eliminate approximately 2.5 billion lbs 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 system’s proprietary management software is designed to optimise power distribution to the various sub-systems of the vehicles, with this energy conservation backed up by passive and active stages of regenerative braking, which charge the medium voltage batteries while the vehicle slows.
For users, the switch to EV provides a comfortable work environment, with health and safety considerations including no noise, fumes, heat or vibrations.
Powered by the SEA-Drive 120b power-system, the SEA SV6 EV covers applications with a GVWR up to 11793kg (Class 6), with its 250kW and 2500Nm performance ratings capable of handling any situation.
The 138kWh battery pack for the platform delivers a class-leading unladen range of up to 274km, complete with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging capabilities, while also configured for fast charging at up to 100kW.
The batteries come with a full five-year warranty, with the warranty of the systems covering three years or 80,000km.
The unique nature of the mid-mounted batteries improves safety and driving dynamics, while also supplying power to all ancillary systems.
A mobile app and fleet portal will soon be released to complement the onboard telemetry.
Plans are also afoot for a Class 3, 4 and 5 step-van solution (SEA SV3 EV, SEA SV4 EV and SEA SV5 EV).
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