CAMBRIDGE, MA – Raser Technologies is developing a plug-in hybrid pickup truck. Instead of
being propelled using both the electric motor and internal combustion engine,
such as traditional hybrids like the Toyota Prius, the truck will travel using
only its electric motor. The engine will use fuel to charge the motor,
according to www.greentechmedia.com.
Provo, Utah-based Raser claims the truck will be able to get
100 miles per gallon by replacing much of the fuel with electricity, which cuts
fuel costs by up to 75 percent. The trucks will be able to drive 40 miles in
all-electric mode and up to 400 miles on a full charge and a full tank of fuel.
The company said it also is nearing completion of a 100-mpg
SUV demonstration vehicle using the same drive system.
The Pacific Gas & Electric Co., which in February agreed
to buy two of the plug-in hybrid SUVs for testing and demonstration purposes,
also plans to test one of the first Raser trucks.
Others are working to bring more electrically driven trucks
to the market. Miles Electric Vehicles is selling a low-speed electric work
truck, the ZX40ST, to fleets for about $18,000, while Phoenix Motorcars is
taking reservations for a four-passenger half-ton pickup truck that the company
in May estimated would cost about $47,000.
Electrorides unveiled a medium-duty electric truck, called
ZeroTruck, in May and plans to begin taking orders for the truck in August.
