Stan Wellaway

Prospects for Electric Cars

Incidentally, should you wish to invest, it is possible to buy shares in Tanfield Group who own Smith Electric Vehicles. They are quoted on the London stockmarket. Ticker LSE:TAN

Tanfield also hold a substantial stake in the US company, Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation, whose first 7.5-ton electric trucks were recently sold to Coca-Cola Enterprises, Frito-Lay, Pacific Gas, Staples, and others.

Prospects for Electric Cars

tukuemuaca - where do you get the idea that Tesla have sold no cars? They have sold 150 or more. Which kinda casts doubt on the rest of your post.

Here in the UK, delivery company TNT Express has so far added 150 electric trucks to its fleet - most of them 7.5-ton Smith Newtons, plus some 3.5-ton Smith Edisons. They are in everyday use at 23 depots across England, Scotland and in Holland.

Supermarket chain Tesco operates a fleet of Modec 5.5-ton electric delivery vans, while their rival Sainsbury's oprate about 20 Smith Edison 3.5-ton food delivery vans.

Swapping the battery pack on a Modec van takes 15 minutes. Taxis in Japan are trialling a battery swap system that takes about one minute.

You are a bit behind the times with your knowledge of what is happening - and I venture to suggest that you will yourself be driving an electric car within 7 years.

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Check out the Case Studies page at the UK website of Smith Electric Vehicles -- where you'll see about 400 vehicles bought by a dozen fleet customers. These are in everday use. www.smithelectricvehic...

Or go to the website of their recently formed US company at sev-us.com and check out the News Room page for details of major customers lined up to buy the 7.5 ton Smith Newton delivery truck.

For the depot-based delivery fleet (such as every postal delivery service) the distance limitation of battery powered vehicles is not a problem - and this segment of the market is growing. Three UK companies and two US companies are now addressing it.

The car market is lagging behind electric vans and trucks - but these fleets will usefully trigger volume production of batteries, which in turn will help lower the cost of electric cars. It's a one way tide.

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Who will drive EVs? EV-entually EV-eryone.

Detroit's Been in Trouble Before - Why This Time Is Different

And so it proved to be! Ford confirmed that Tanfield's Smith division would be their chosen partner for the US electric van. A huge endorsement of Smith Electric Vehicles.

Ford Partners to Commercialize Electric Cars

UK-listed Tanfield Group today announced the formation of a new US company called Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation (SEVUS), the majority of shares in which will be US-owned.

This not only allows them access to US government funding for the development of alternative transport solutions - it also allows Ford to name them as their (US based) partner for the 2010 electric van. I don't know if this is what Ford intend doing, but if so, there are two imminent opportunities to do so. The car show in Chicago next week, and the WorkTruck show early next month.

Ford and Smith are already partners in Europe, where the established Smith Edison and newer Smith Ampere are both dual-badged Ford/Smith.

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I think they are right to target commercial vehicles. There are tens of thousands of depot-based delivery fleets; every local postal delivery service operates in that way, all over the world.

Japan Post intends switching 21,000 of its vehicles to battery power. In France, La Poste is looking for 10,000 electric delivery vehicles initially. In the UK, the Royal Mail is trialling Smith Edison and Smith Newton vans. Surely there is scope for something similar in various parts of the USA? Even with numerous competitors chasing a share of the market, there is plenty for Valence to go at. As long as they can survive until real quantity orders kick in. Which might be sooner if the new US administration wants to make an early impact with greener transport.

Detroit's Been in Trouble Before - Why This Time Is Different

Ford duly mentioned the Tanfield Group name during its press conference at the Detroit show on Sunday. And the Tanfield share price duly responded this week. Local newspapers based close to the company's north-east England HQ seem increasingly convinced that something is afoot.

See www.durhamtimes.co.uk/.../

Detroit's Been in Trouble Before - Why This Time Is Different

Regardless of my enthusiasm for electric vehicles, I wouldn't pretend that EV-related stocks are favourite. The majority of them struggle to make any headway. Tanfield Group has seen its share price crash from overhyped levels to what is now a pitifully low level. (Though they do actually make a profit and have no debt - so are better placed than some to survive the current gloom. Their net asset value is high enough to sustain a sizeable increase in the share price)

If it turns out that Ford has used its close working relationship to milk Smith of expertise, and to go it alone (or with some other) on the EV front, the Tanfield share price is doomed to stay low. But if Ford's promised announcement at the Detroit show 4 weeks from now does confirm Smith as their EV partner, I believe the Tanfield share price will soar. In the UK there are certainly plenty of investors listening very closely for any leak of information at present. On a purely speculative level, with its price so low, I believe it to be worth holding a few. Though obviously, everyone should do their own research.

Detroit's Been in Trouble Before - Why This Time Is Different

For those who (like me) do actually look forward to an all-electric transport future, and who want to take a stake in it, there is a company listed on the UK stockmarket, called Tanfield Group (LSE:TAN). Easily overlooked because it's main product is aerial work platforms. But they also own Smith Electric Vehicles - the world's biggest and oldest producer of roadgoing EVs.

Over a period of 80 years, Smith have quietly sold an estimated 70 thousand electric vehicles worldwide (!). And in the past year they have delivered more than 400 electric trucks and vans in England alone. Mostly the 7.5ton Smith Newton and the 3.5ton Smith Edison. Plus a few 9ton and 12ton versions. Check out the Case Studies page on their website www.smithelectricvehic...

Their newest (and smallest) product is the Smith Ampere - developed jointly with Ford, and displayed on Ford's own stand at the CV-2008 show last April, in Birmingham, UK. I don't know if this is the 2010 van which Ford intend releasing details of at the Detroit show next month - but if it is, the (currently depressed) Tanfield share price could fly.

Smith buy components from US companies, Valence and Enova. And are about to open van production facilities on US soil.