SPI Energy Co., Ltd., a global renewable energy company and provider of solar storage and electric vehicle (EV) solutions for business, residential, government, logistics, and utility customers, announced in October that its EdisonFuture Motor Inc. subsidiary would debut its electric solar pickup truck, EF1-T, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The company will accept reservations to book EV orders during the show.

“We’re excited for the opportunity to showcase our latest EV innovations at the LA Auto Show, the first major auto show of the season,” said Denton Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of SPI Energy. “With industry influencers, car enthusiasts, and consumer buyers in attendance, the LA Auto Show provides a tremendous platform to bring awareness to the next-generation technology powering our EF1-T e-pickup truck.”

The LA Auto Show presence was also symbolic for the company as earlier in November, SPI Energy announced plans to relocate its corporate headquarters from Hong Kong to Santa Clara, CA.

“After discussions amongst our board members, it was agreed that relocating our corporate headquarters to Santa Clara would provide the most advantages for our business as we continue to focus on expanding our U.S. solar operations and accelerating the growth of our rapidly evolving EV division,” stated Peng. “California is a world leader in renewable energy solutions. SPI was originally founded in Roseville, California, in 2006, and we are proud to now officially call California home for our expanding global operations.”

About 33% of California’s electricity came from renewable energy in 2019 and the state is targeting 50% renewable generation by 2025. The state has also mandated an end to the sale of gasoline-fueled cars by 2035.

 

The EF1-T pickup

The EF1-T, developed in partnership with Icona and other leading auto suppliers, is the first product in a line of advanced all-electric pickup trucks and last-mile delivery vans. Targeted at utility and commercial customers, the company says that the pickup can also be used for travel, family, or personal use in varying road and environment conditions, from city streets to off-road.

The EF1-T Standard model comes with 350 kW and the Super top model offers 600 kW. The bed length for all is 6.5 ft, with an optional 8 ft.

The Standard has a single motor for 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) acceleration in less than 6.5 s and more than 7500-lb (3400-kg) towing capacity. The dual-motor EF1-TP Premium features a 0-60 mph time of less than 4.5 s, an EPA estimated range of 380 mi (612 km), and a greater than 9000-lb (4080-kg) towing capacity. The tri-motor EF1-TS Super’s 0-60 mph time is less than 3.9 s, EPA estimated range is 450 mi (724 km), and towing capacity is more than 11,000 lb (4990 kg).

One key feature of the sleek vehicle design is an optional integrated solar “mosaic” panel that can be pulled out in stages over the rear bed for charging when driving or parked. The “Armadillo Armor” can also be locked into place to protect the bed’s contents. The sleek design is also enabled by replacing standard wing mirrors with cameras, and entry into the truck is eased with motorized motion-activated side steps.

The solar theme continues inside with the dashtop solar mosaic panel, providing a visual signature and supplementing the roof solar mosaic to recharge the vehicle’s batteries.

In addition to the driver screen, there is a floating 17.5-in infotainment touchscreen for control of climate and music and for truck diagnostics. Pillar-mounted 7-in displays provide a view of the road and obstacles behind “regardless of weather condition.”

Lighting plays a big role inside. Roof-mounted LED reading and ambient lights illuminate each row, a larger light handles the entire cabin, and lighting strips are in the upper door and dashboard.

Aluminum-clad toolboxes mounted to each door panel allow for extra storage that can be removed for on-the-go users.

 

The EF1-V van

In September, EdisonFuture revealed its EF1-V electric solar delivery van series using the same chassis and platform as the EF1-T pickup. The multi-purpose van is intended for work, travel, family, or personal use in different road and environment conditions from city streets to countryside off-road. It adds a light-duty solution to the medium-duty Class 4 electric vehicle family built by SPI Energy subsidiary Phoenix Motorcars.

Like the EF1-T, the delivery van was developed in a partnership with Icona. Targeted at last-mile fleets including e-commerce, grocery, food, and store delivery segments, the van will be available in multiple cargo box options between 260 to 400 ft3 (7360 to 11,300 L), multiple heights, and features sliding doors on the side and easy access doors at the rear. It also has optional roof-mounted solar mosaic technology.

The EF1-V e-utility van comes in both single-motor 298-kW and dual-motor 514-kW models. The single-motor EF1-V Standard goes from 0-60 mph in less than 6.5 s and has a towing capacity of more than 7500 lb. The EF1-VL Long Range features dual motors, the same 0-60 mph acceleration, but a greater towing capacity of more than 8000 lb (3630 kg).

Inside, the van shares many of the same features of the pickup including lighting strips in the upper door and dashboard and the floating 17.5-in infotainment touchscreen.

 

Market drivers

What’s behind SPI Energy’s push into the electric pickup and van market? The company says that the pandemic shifted attitudes towards clean transportation, with consumer acceptance growing with battery electric vehicle (BEV) technology.

About 2.9 million pickup trucks were sold in the U.S. in 2020, representing nearly 20% of the entire vehicle market. According to data from Cox Automotive, nearly two in five consumers in the market for a pickup truck over the next two years are considering an electric pickup truck.

Last-mile delivery is a growing need due to explosive increases in e-commerce and exponential growth of restaurant and grocery deliveries to homes, especially in urban metro areas. With fleet operators pursuing environmentally friendly logistic practices, such as Amazon’s ordering of 100,000 electric delivery vans and FedEx’s plans to electrify its entire pickup and delivery fleet by 2040, demand for last-mile EV solutions is expected to increase significantly.

Backing these trends, the company sites a number of data points. The last-mile delivery market size in North America is expected to grow by $59.81 billion during 2021-2025, according to a recent report from Technavio. The global last-mile delivery market was valued at $18.7 billion in 2020 and is expected to grow to $62.7 billion by 2027, according to AllTheResearch. The World Economic Forum recently reported increasing last-mile delivery demands will drive a 36% increase in the number of delivery vehicles in the world’s top 100 cities by 2030.

“Our vision for EdisionFuture is to be leaders in sustainable transportation with focuses on innovative design, energy efficiency, and purpose-driven mobility applications,” said Peng. “This new [EF1-V] product will enable last-mile delivery fleets to significantly reduce the carbon impact of their operations,”

 

Scooters and forklifts too

SPI Energy, as a global renewable energy company and provider of solar storage and EV solutions for business, residential, government, logistics, and utility customers, also has operations in other markets.

Its RideZoomers, Inc. subsidiary launched an Amazon Store in September to accelerate sales of its Zoomer and Zoomer 2 electric scooter models. Established in Seattle in 2019 as a scooter-sharing startup, RideZoomers pivoted to a direct-to-consumer and hardware business model in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. SPI’s EdisonFuture acquired the assets of RideZoomers in July 2021.

“RideZoomers’ revamped customer service and inventory management systems, along with new product line expansions, have significantly strengthened its foundation for accelerated growth moving forward,” commented Peng. “Now in addition to our in-house direct-to-consumer sales programs, we believe the new Amazon Store fast-track sales growth as we reach an even wider audience of potential buyers.”

The Zoomer model boasts some of the highest caliber stats in its category, with a 60-V 2000-W rear hub motor, 1200-W battery for over an hour of continuous ride time, and 30-mph top speed. The Zoomer 2 was launched in September to build on the successful Zoomer model.

The electric scooter market is expected to reach $644.5 billion globally by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 29.4%, according to a June 2021 report from Meticulous Research.

Also in September, Phoenix Motorcars launched a new line of electric forklifts using advanced lithium-ion batteries, providing improved efficiency over traditional battery-powered forklifts which require regular battery changes during normal operations. The lithium-ion batteries also provide a long-life cycle, remain highly reliable throughout the entire battery life, and feature improved cold-weather performance, reduced maintenance costs, and a total cost of ownership estimated at less than 50% of currently available products.

“We continue to see strong government support in California and beyond with incentives in place to replace outdated forklifts with new, safe, and environmentally friendly products,” said Peng. “We are now accepting both sale and lease orders for our new branded electric forklifts and expect to begin deliveries in the fourth quarter this year.”

The electric forklifts come with up to 10-yr or 20,000-h warranties and are currently available in 2500-kg (5500-lb) and 2000-kg (4400-lb) configurations.

The global forklift market is forecasted to reach $19.1 billion by 2026, according to a 2021 report from Global Industry Analysts.