Miles ZX40ST Work Truck introduced in Sacramento today
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Miles EV, NEV (Neighborhood Electric Vehicle)
It's been a month since we last wrote about Miles Automotive. Most of our recent coverage of the electric car company has revolved around the sounds-too-good-too-be-true XS500, a highway speed all-electric sedan that is - supposedly - about a year away. Now we have something new from Miles to write about. The 2008 Production Model MILES ZX40ST Work Truck, which was introduced today at the Green California Summit in Sacramento.
The ZX40ST (boy, that rolls off the tongue, doesn't it?) is a low speed electric vehicle (25 mph top speed) that uses six lead acid batteries (rated for 25,000 miles) and a brushless AC motor to go 50-60 miles per charge. It takes 4-6 hours to charge from 50 percent to full from a standard home outlet (so, I'll assume it takes about double that to charge from near empty?). Watch out, pedestrians, as this little guy can scoot from 0-20 mph in five seconds. These may not be spectacular numbers, but for what a vehicle like this is supposed to do, I'd say they're quite sufficient. Miles has announced that it is making 200 ZX40STs a month and is sold out through June. The truck costs $18,400.
The truck will be on display at the Sacramento Convention Center through tomorrow. See more after the break.
Press Release:
2008 Production Model MILES ZX40ST Work Truck to be Introduced at the Green California Summit in Sacramento
Sacramento, Calif., April 7, 2008 – The highly anticipated, zero emissions, AC motor MILES ZX40ST work truck will be showcased publicly for the first time at the Green California Summit at the Sacramento Convention Center April 8-9.
"We're pleased to partner with the Green California Summit as a Gold Sponsor and show the production AC motor ZX40ST for the first time publicly," said Miles Electric Vehicles COO, Jeff Boyd. "We believe that as the only truly affordable, light duty, all electric LSV truck on the market, the ZX40ST fills a product gap and also performs on par with its gas powered counterparts," Boyd said.
The MILES ZX40ST, which functions especially well in a fleet environment, is already in high demand with many units pre-sold to university and municipal fleet users throughout the country. Even with a production rate of 200 units per month, the ZX40ST is on backorder until June. With a newly structured sales force that spans the country, the ZX40ST and other MILES vehicles are now available for demonstration nationwide upon request. The base MSRP for the MILES ZX40ST is $18,400, and can be seen on the web at www.milesev.com.
As a Gold Sponsor, Miles Electric Vehicles will also be presenting in the Sponsor Showcase Gallery at the Green California Summit on Tuesday, April 8. Jeff Boyd will be giving a presentation covering environmental issues and how the MILES line of all electric, zero emissions vehicles can lower your carbon footprint. MILES currently markets two low speed, AC motor, all electric vehicles: the ZX40ST work truck and the ZX40S Advanced Design car.
ABOUT MILES ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Founded in 2005 by activist/entrepreneur Miles Rubin and headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., Miles Electric Vehicles is dedicated to changing the world one car at a time. The company is now successfully marketing a line of low speed, all electric cars and trucks, which combine the best of U.S. electric motor and controller technology with China's advanced battery and vehicle manufacturing capabilities. All MILES vehicles conform to US NHTSA standards and are manufactured with safety and ease of use as prime considerations. To date the company has built a prestigious fleet customer base that includes the City of Chicago, NASA, UCLA, Cal State Polytechnic University, the U.S. Navy, and others. MILES is currently developing a safe, affordable highway speed, all electric vehicle for distribution in the U.S. and EU in late 2009.
[Source: Miles EV]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-08-2008 @ 7:59PM
Stins said...
Haha, yeah the ZX40ST isn't the catchiest name, that's for sure. But hopefully it'll be a catchy vehicle and for folks who don't have to go too far or too fast, it might be just perfect. I'm looking forward to reading some reviews from people who test drive the Miles ZX40ST Work Truck (http://greenhome.huddler.com/products/miles-electric-vehicles-zx40st-work-truck-ev).
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4-08-2008 @ 8:59PM
Jason Dunham said...
This seams a lot like the ZAP Truck XL, but it is more expensive. According to Zapworld.com the ZAP Truck XL will be available for delivery in the fall of 2008 for approximately $15,000. The Miles version though has almost double the range of the ZAP. Also the 0-20 mph acceleration in 5 seconds doesn't seam to bad for this type of vehicle. Still, I think I'm more interested in Aptera. Can't wait till Aptera starts letting people test drive the vehicles. Apparently the first Apteras will roll of the assembly line in Dec. of 2008.
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4-08-2008 @ 9:08PM
A.Brien said...
Im really tire of the offerings of todays alternatives cars. This truck is really basic even for the price. No battery car have a small gasoline on-board battery recharcher and/or booster ?? No pan-american size car tuning and hardware and mechanics shop sell natural gas car convertion. No one is proposing some new brand name natural gas and hydrogen gas fill-up service.
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4-08-2008 @ 10:29PM
Kevin Nugent said...
That things looks highly unsafe . I think my 10 year old brother can flip that if he wanted too
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4-09-2008 @ 12:04AM
Ping said...
The market for these types of vehicles is in walkable campuses. All the maintenance workers at my college drive around little electric golf carts/trucks, and its convenient for them, because they can drive them onto sidewalks, to reach inner flowerbeds, machinery, etc.
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4-09-2008 @ 12:19AM
Andrew said...
Kevin, the Miles ZX40ST meets all the federal LSV standards. If they cranked up the speed it might not be safe but its perfectly safe for the federal 25 MPH Limit.
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4-09-2008 @ 6:09AM
Niralisherni said...
@No. 2 Yes you are quite correct, this is a lot like ZAP's truck which is already tried and tested by a lot of consumers. The Xebra truck (http://www.zapworld.com/electric-vehicles/electric-cars/xebra-truck) is already very successful. The XL truck is due out this fall.
ZAP has delivered vehicles to fleet customers such as UPS, Chilectra, Coca-Cola, Domino's, Guru Beverages, Google
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4-09-2008 @ 7:55AM
jcwinnie said...
4 wheels, you are making progress, Seb
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4-09-2008 @ 8:31AM
BlackbirdHighway said...
Well, it does have 33% more wheels than the ZAP truck.
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4-09-2008 @ 8:47AM
Dave said...
Niralisherni @ 7,
I'd like to talk to ONE happy ZAP customer, let alone a repeat happy customer. Support your statement please.
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4-09-2008 @ 8:59AM
kert said...
See Niralisherni's profile. Hyping ZAP is all he does in the comments here.
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4-09-2008 @ 9:55AM
GoodCheer said...
Re #5 Ping: I totally agree. I really wish the grounds crews here had something smaller and more efficient than the superduty 350s they drive around with a couple garbage bags full of mulch or leaves in the back.
They certainly need big trucks when they tow around trailers of lawn-mowers, but for 80% of the tasks they do, one of these would be perfect.
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4-09-2008 @ 2:11PM
Byron Thomas said...
Miles seems like a legit company. I still think $18,000 plus is a bit much for a heavy duty golfcart. You can buy those trucks in China with a gas engine for $6000. I don't understand why it costs so much to SELL THE EXTRA ENGINE BRAND NEW, and put in a $500 10 HP electric motor, six 12v batteries @$100 each, and some controllers, and labor? Does that really add up to $10000 with freight from china ($700 each) and in usa $600?
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4-09-2008 @ 3:48PM
George Krpan said...
A top speed of 25mph would get you killed on the mean streets of LA.
Why not use a one or two cylinder gasoline engine in cars like these until they get the bugs out of electric propulsion? It may not be as clean but it would slash gasoline usage just the same.
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4-21-2008 @ 12:00PM
GoneCountry said...
Byron-
You are correct in your statement that this truck can be purchased in China for much less, however your math is a little off. The real increase in cost for this vehicle comes in two forms: the brains and the brawn. These batteries are not 12v $100 batteries that you can pick up anywhere. The controller made by Curtis is not a cheap item, as well as the motor and Delta Q charging controller. Im not sure of the prices of these items but it seems to me that they are trying to put in top shelf components for this vehicle for long term use.
Also, think a lot of people on here are misunderstanding the market and use for these LSV's. You cannot put these in place of your regular vehicle and they are not meant to fill that void. In my opinion any all electric vehicle is a step in the right place, even if it only does 25mph. I think lots of Universities, Municipalities, and Corporations will be into this idea of all electric LSV. Just my 2c ;)
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