Xos, Inc., a technology company that provides fleet services, software solutions, and manufactures medium-duty Class 5 through heavy-duty Class 8 battery-electric commercial vehicles, delivered 65 of its 100% battery-electric step vans to return customer Merchants Fleet.

The vehicles have been split between Antioch in Northern California and Alhambra in Southern California. This brings the total number of Xos step vans delivered to Merchants Fleet to 123.

“Merchants Fleet has continued to push the envelope in fleet electrification and serves as a role model for the industry,” said Jessica Savage, Head of Distribution at Xos. “We’ve enjoyed partnering with them over the past several years to electrify their fleet and help them achieve their sustainability goals.”

In 2021, Merchants committed $2.5 billion to electric vehicles (EVs), and client EV fleets drove over 5.2 million miles, thereby preventing an estimated 1,400 metric tons of CO2 emissions. Looking ahead, Merchants plans to electrify 50% of its mobility portfolio by 2025 and electrify 50% of its fleet portfolio by 2030.

In the 2021 commitment, Merchants Fleet announced its intent to purchase the EV step vans from Xos, with the first 10 expected in 2022. In July of 2022, Merchants announced the order of 58 Xos step vans, delivered to three locations for Merchants Fleet during the second quarter of 2022, including San Diego; North Highlands, California; and Hooksett, New Hampshire.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with Xos as we move closer to achieving our electrification and sustainability goals,” said Hari Nayar, vice president of Fleet Electrification and Sustainability at Merchants Fleet.

The SV05 step van from Xos is available in a variety of configurations. The modular chassis and battery systems allows Xos to tailor the step van to meet the exact needs of any fleet, according to the company. The van was developed from the ground up to be ideal last-mile delivery vehicle for vocational fleets including parcel delivery, textiles, utility and repair trucks, and armored transport.