by Jbs011409d3 R&G OR — January 16, 2009—In what is the single largest acquisition of its kind, the US Army has announced that it will lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) over the next three years across its 155 installations. NEVs are small, low-speed electric vehicles that cannot be driven on highways, although some states allow their use on local roads.
The 4,000 electric vehicles will be used on Army bases for passenger transport, security patrol, and maintenance and delivery services. The Army says the fuel or energy costs for the electric vehicles will be significantly less than for gasoline-powered cars, at an estimated $460 annually rather than $1,200. The vehicles are also expected to reduce the Army’s fossil fuel consumption by 11.5 million gallons over a six-year period, which translates into 115,000 fewer tons of CO2 emissions.
The Army accepted its first six NEVs at Virginia’s Fort Myer on January 12 and will lease a total of 800 NEVs this year, followed by the leasing of 1,600 NEVs for each of the following two years. These first six were manufactured by the Global Electric Motorcars division of Chrysler Corporation, although other companies can compete to meet Army vehicular requirements in the future.
The vehicles delivered to Fort Myer were two four-passenger sedan NEV models and four two-passenger NEV utility models. The utility model has a stake bed and a 1,000 pound payload capability. With a full eight-hour charge, the NEVs can travel 30 miles at a top speed of 25 miles per hour.
The 4,000 electric vehicles will be used in a non-tactical environment; however, as part of its Future Combat Systems (FCS) ground force modernization program, the Army says it is developing a suite of eight new hybrid-electric powered Manned Ground Vehicles (MGVs) for its armored forces that will be more fuel efficient and reduce the number of refueling convoys exposed in combat.
