Back in 2021, hydrogen/electric truck maker Tevva joined the likes of Tesla, Volvo and Volta on a mission to clean up freight haulage. Now the company has announced that it's the first British EV manufacturer to start mass producing electric trucks.
Production at Tevva's UK facility has started with the TEV75, after the Vehicle Certification Agency and the Swedish Transport Agency put the 7.5-tonne battery-electric truck through a barrage of system tests before granting European Community Whole Vehicle Type Approval.
This essentially means that sales can now begin across the UK and Europe, and Expect Distribution, Travis Perkins and the Royal Mail are to be among the first customers to receive the new electric medium-duty trucks. The company expects to manufacture 1,000 trucks this year, with production for global markets following in 2024.
The TEV75 is a single-speed automatic with 192 kW of power and 596 Nm (439.5 lb.ft) of torque for rolling up 20% gradients when duty calls. Its 105-kWh battery pack offers a maximum reported range of 227 km (140 miles) per charge on the rural element of the WHVC/CVRAS cycle and based on 50% load, though thhat dropped to 170 km (105 miles) on the complete CVRAS cycle with the same load. Type 2 charging takes around five hours, and 22-kW fast-charging is supported.
The 4,815-mm (189.5-in) wheelbase truck can haul a gross payload of 2,942 kg (6,485 lb), features leaf-spring suspension to the front and air suspension at the back, and stopping power comes courtesy of regenerative and hydraulic disc braking.
Tevva will also be producing a hybrid battery/hydrogen model later this year, where the full-cycle CVRAS range gets bumped to 428 km (266 miles) thanks to a 9-kg H2 tank that can be topped up in 10 minutes. The LFP battery bank also gets a small increase to 112 kWh, but cargo capacity is reduced slightly to 2,718 kg (5,992 lb).
"We continue to 'charge on' as a company and reach new milestones, with type approval being the latest and most important landmark we’ve achieved to date," said company founder and CEO, Asher Bennett. "I am incredibly proud of our team who have worked tirelessly to secure this certification and get our 7.5t electric truck in customers’ hands and on the roads."
Product page: TEV75