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The plant that made something very American and very much a gas-guzzler is now making electric vans—albeit ones essentially from China.
Electric Last Mile Solutions (ELMS) on Wednesday announced shipment of its first electric delivery vans to customers. Those vans rolled out of the same Mishawaka, Indiana, factory that used to build Hummers.
ELMS claims to have the first electric Class 1 commercial vehicle available in the United States. The first units of what ELMS calls its Urban Delivery EV will go to commercial dealership Randy Marion Automotive Group, as part of a binding purchase order for 1,000 vehicles announced last week, according to an ELMS press release.
ELMS Urban Delivery electric van
The company was formed in August 2020 (with headquarters in Troy, Michigan) after a bid by Chinese automaker Chongqing Sokon Industry Group to manufacture its SF Motors SF5 electric SUV in Mishawaka unravelled, a recent Crain’s Chicago Business piece explains. A team led by now-CEO Jim Taylor started ELMS to buy the factory and build vans instead.
ELMS’ manufacturing model sounds similar to that of defunct EV startup Coda Automotive, or somewhat like the model attempted by Chanje, which applied a similar strategy to larger vans and now faces a some significant financial obstacles. Vehicles are produced in China in this case, as “pushers” or “rollers,” but in this case containing the most valuable piece in the vehicle, the battery pack, and workers in Indiana finish the production. Only instead of compact sedans, ELMS is building compact vans.
Measuring 177 inches long, 64 inches wide, and 75 inches tall, with a 120-inch wheelbase, the Urban Delivery is considered a light-duty Class 1 commercial vehicle. ELMS quotes a 2,100-pound payload capacity, 171 cubic feet of cargo volume, and 125 miles of range.
As a product, the Urban Delivery sounds a lot like the Nissan e-NV200, a Leaf-based model that the Japanese automaker initially considered bringing to the U.S. and decided against.
ELMS Urban Delivery electric van
ELMS plans to follow up the Urban Delivery with the Urban Utility, a Class 3 vehicle scheduled to start production in the second half of 2022.
A handful of other companies have announced electric vans, but some are larger than ELMS’ initial offering.
General Motors just this week started making its BrightDrop electric vans, and announced a second, short-wheelbase version. Ford will also soon begin production of its E-Transit full-size van.
Canoo also has a van on the way, supposedly starting at about $33,000. It’s closer in size to the ELMS Urban Delivery, and based on Canoo’s clever skateboard platform.
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