Zeus Electric Chassis, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, has signed its first dealer agreement to sell its Class-5 zero-emission truck. One Stop Truck & Equipment of Sacramento, CA, is the first Zeus dealer. 

Zeus said the response it had at both the NTEA Work Truck Show in Indianapolis in March of this year and again at the ACT Expo in Las Vegas in May is proof that there is an intense demand for a class-5 conventional-cab zero-emission (ZEV) work truck. 

The company said potential utility, state, and municipal customers were enthusiastic about the prospect of purchasing a pickup-style cab mated with a ZEV platform. According to Zeus, mandates such as California’s Advanced Clean Fleet (ACF) and other public and private fleet electrification goals have been unserved in this market to date.

“The upfitter industry has served these fleet customers for decades optimizing their work truck vocational products. Zeus and One Stop want to provide the ZEV chassis to build on that, not force customers to accommodate new chassis dimensions or cab styles,” said Zeus CEO Dave Stenson.

“Working at ‘ground zero’ of the transformation into commercial vehicle EVs, One Stop has a unique perspective on what our customers are demanding,” said Daryl Trueblood, One Stop Truck & Equipment general manager. The Zeus Z-19 Class 5 product fits their needs. We have already had many discussions validating the pent-up demand for this truck and are super excited that Zeus has partnered with us in their final development stages to deliver it.”

Class 5 with Pickup-Style Cab

Zeus said it is the only automaker offering a class 5 zero-emission chassis paired with a conventional pickup-style cab dominant in the work truck industry. Other industry medium-duty ZEV offerings have focused on last-mile delivery or other applications where the frame geometry or cab height is less of a concern to the customer and upfitters, Zeus said.

Aluminum Cab Made in the US

Zeus offers a US-manufactured aluminum cab with design origins in fire truck construction methods. Zeus and One Stop are well positioned to begin selling into the rising demand for zero-emission commercial vehicles starting in the State of California. 

Zeus anticipates this just being the start of a period of work truck ZEV adoption, as long lifecycles, state incentives, and fleet adoption mandates create the necessary environment for fleets to start their transition into EVs for select applications, especially where cross-country driving range is much less of an issue.