Scalable Battery-Electric Van Built for Last-Mile Delivery

Like other legacy vehicle manufacturers across Michigan, the Shyft Group, formerly Spartan Motors, is making the move to electric vehicles.

The builder of specialty vehicles expects to deliver its new Blue Arc delivery van to customers next summer, according to Daryl Adams, Shyft president and CEO. The Novi, MI-based company has begun taking pre-orders, he says.

Commercially oriented, last-mile delivery vans are likely to be the first segment in the transportation industry to move completely to battery-electric vehicles. Shyft already has a strong position in the business, as it supplies half the cargo vans used by companies such as Amazon, Federal Express and UPS.

Founded in 1975, Spartan Motors changed its name in 2020 after selling off its emergency-vehicle business to the REV Group so it could specialize in commercial vehicles. The divestiture provided the speed and flexibility needed to further focus on accelerating growth and profitability in the commercial, fleet, delivery and specialty-vehicles markets, where Shyft sees the biggest opportunities to generate higher returns, Adams says.

“We know innovation and electrification,” says Adams, noting Shyft has built vehicles with alternative powertrains for more than two decades. The company’s revenue grew to $992 million in 2021 when it built nearly 20,000 vehicles for various customers, including package delivery companies and makers of recreational vehicles.

Most of the vehicles were built at the company’s plant in Bristol, IN, but Shyft also operates in 18 other locations and has more than 3,800 employees.

With the transportation industry’s switch to electrified vehicles picking up momentum, the Shyft Group launched development of its own battery-electric chassis in the summer of 2021, Adams says. The result is the Blue Arc van, which is specifically designed for fleet operators whose drivers cover the last mile between a warehouse or depot and the final customer.

The Blue Arc chassis also can be used for shuttle buses and even RVs, he says.

Prices for the Blue Arc van are expected to range from $160,000 to $185,000.

The Shyft Group also is refining development of the Power Cube (pictured, below), a fully portable EV charging system that can be moved onto the property of BEV fleet operators and recharge up to 20 vehicles at once. Shyft engineers began working on the Power Cube after fleet operators told them it could take 18 to 24 months to install charging stations at their facilities.

Blue Arc charging station

The portable charging stations can serve as a bridge for fleet operators committed to BEVs, Shyft says.

Shyft fortifies its Blue Arc chassis with components from established suppliers such as Dana, Akebono, Bosch and Modine, notes Johann Eloff, vice president-engineering.

The new Blue Arc delivery van is built around the company’s proprietary Class 3 EV chassis that promises to have both the long lifecycle of a traditional delivery van, which can stretch out over 15 years, plus the big increase in fuel economy that comes with electric propulsion, according to Eric Fisher, group vice president and general manager-EV solutions.

The purpose-built chassis is designed around steel frame rails, which enclose the battery pack, and a commercial-grade e-axle.

The battery pack has a range of 150 miles (242 km), but the lithium-ion battery can be scaled up to the meet customers’ specific needs with 160-kWh to 240-kWh modular design and 800V. The delivery van will come with Level Two and DC fast-charging compatibility and can charge in as little as two to six hours.

Eric Fisher Blue Arc

The scalable chassis can vary in length from 12 ft. (3.7 m) to 22 ft. (6.7 m), again according to the customer’s needs, Fisher says. The walk-in cargo box is 85 ins. (2,159 mm) tall and 88.5 ins. (2,248 mm) wide and features lightweight, honeycomb aluminum shelving. 

At first glance, the Blue Arc van looks like a standard step-van delivery vehicle. But unlike those vehicles whose bodies are riveted, the cargo box and driver’s cabin on the Blue Arc are made from bonded aluminum (pictured, below).

Fisher says driver comfort features include an automotive-grade instrument panel with an optional entertainment system and keyless entry and starting. The vehicle is equipped with active emergency braking, lane-keep assist and blindspot detection.

blue-arc-side-and-rear.jpg