News Briefs

Polaris Adds Jobs – Polaris will be adding 89 jobs in their Osceola, WI plant for work related to their Indian Motorcycle and GEM product lines that were acquired last year.  Work at the plant will include engine production for motorcycles and R&D for GEM vehicles.  The company has also added 200 jobs over the last 18 months at their Spirit Lake facility which is ramping up to full production of Indian motorcycles and GEM vehicles.  Learn more:  Startribune.com

Campus Sustainability Drives Electrics – Washington State University is another example of how sustainability initiatives on campus are driving electric STOV purchases.  The university recently purchased the three GEMs for transportation and general fleet use.  The vehicles help the university meet the governor’s mandate that state entities reduce their carbon footprint.  Learn more:  News.wsu.edu

A Case For NEVs/LSVs – In this brief interview an author in the renewable energy space makes the case for NEVs/LSVs and the role for STOVs.  Learn more:  2greenenergy.com

More Sustainability Driven Purchases

The University of Chicago recently added three e-Ride electric utility vehicles to their fleet.  The LSVs are replacing two gas powered trucks and a van and are the University’s first foray into all electric vehicles.  The vehicles will be used mostly by the facilities department in their carpentry or painting shops during a pilot phase to understand how to best use the vehicles.  In the future more of these type of vehicles are expected to be purchased as part of a sustainability program.  Learn more:  Blogs.uchicago.edu/dirt

Update:  In a related story, Missouri State University students purchased a Vantage EVX1000 electric utility truck for student workers who collect recyclables on campus.  The student sustainability fund was used to finance the $24,000 purchase.  The recycling program is expected to now be more efficient with a dedicated vehicle that expands access to off-campus university buildings downtown.  Learn more:  News-leader.com

LSV Market Segment Spotlight: Municipalities & Universities

I came across a couple of stories in the last week that I believe are representative of two key market segments for LSVs:  municipalities and universities, as well as the versatility of the vehicles.

In the first, the city of Hoboken is looking to replace full size vehicles in their parking enforcement department with LSVs. For the municipality the key factors are a significantly lower capital cost for the vehicle, drastically lower operating costs and reduced maintenance costs.  A secondary consideration are the environmental benefits.

“I’m very concerned about saving money for the city of Hoboken and saving the environment and I think it’s really going to reduce costs,” said Hoboken acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer after completing her ride around town.

The vehicles will mainly be used for transporting the meter readers but their  configurations will also allow them to carry the necessary equipment for booting cars.

Learn more:  NJ.com/hobokennow/

In the other story Princeton University is replacing small pickup trucks with LSVs configured as utility trucks.  A driving factor in their decision is the university wide goal of sustainability.  They are impressed by the efficiency of the vehicles and the reduction in gas consumption that can be realized.

“Electric cars are much more efficient. They use less energy to travel the same amount of miles as a gas-powered vehicle,” said Roger Demareski, the assistant vice president for facilities for plant, who oversees the pilot program.

In order to expand the streets the vehicles can be legally driven on the university had to work with the local towns to change their LSV ordinances.  Some towns only allowed LSVs on streets with a 25 mph speed limit but a shift to a 35 mph limit allows vehicle access to all parts of the campus.

Learn more:  Princeton.edu

In both cases the LSVs are replacing gas-powered vehicles and they represent important market segments for LSVs, especially in a slow economy.  The cost savings realized by the vehicles, the environmental benefits and various federal and state funding available for these type of vehicles help drive these market segments while others may be faltering.- Marc Cesare