Smith Electric Vehicles
| Private | |
| Industry | Battery electric vehicle |
| Founded |
Washington, Tyne and Wear, United Kingdom. (1920) |
| Headquarters | Kansas City, Missouri |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
John Dixon (CEO) |
| Products | The Smith Newton |
| Website | Smith Electric |
Smith Electric Vehicles (also known as Smith's) is a manufacturer of zero emission commercial electric vehicles. The company was founded in 1920 in the North of England but in 2011 moved its headquarters to Kansas City, Missouri.
Smith manufactures the largest range of zero-emission commercial electric vehicles in the world, with Gross Vehicle Weights (GVWs) from 3,500 kg – 12,000 kg.
It was formerly based in Washington, Tyne and Wear, Smith produces vehicles for the US, Canadian, European and South-East Asia markets. It was formerly part of The Tanfield Group Plc, which trades on the AIM market of the .
Tanfield established a separate company, Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp (SEV US Corp) in 2009 to penetrate the North American market. A Delaware corporation. Its headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri. The United States company in March 2010 indicated it wanted to buy out the UK company.
After many years of poor trading history the UK arms of Smith were shut down. This included Smith Electric Vehicles (Europe) Ltd which was put into Administration and Smith Technologies Ltd which was put into Liquidation.
The company was founded in 1920 as Northern Coachbuilders in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. After making a name as a producer of electric trams and trolley buses, it moved into road-going electric delivery vehicles. Smith Electric Vehicles was born.
The name comes from the Smith family that founded the business and ran it until 2004. The family remains in North East England and it still owns Ringtons Tea, engaged in the importation, blending and distribution of tea.
The Smith Electric Vehicles business in the 1950s and 60s focussed on the milk float, a vehicle solely engaged in the doorstep delivery of milk and other dairy products. As the dairies phased out delivery by horse and cart, they opted for near-silent electric vehicles for their early morning deliveries, instead of the noisier ICE-powered vans and trucks.
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Wikipedia