UPS (NYSE:UPS) has announced a collaboration with Los Angeles-based Thor Trucks to develop an electric Class 6 delivery truck. The truck is expected to be ready for testing later this year.

Thor’s truck will have a driving range of approximately 100 miles, and will be powered by a Thor-designed and built battery. UPS plans to test it for six months, including off-road evaluation to address durability, battery capacity, technical integration, engineering and any items found during on-road testing.

UPS has been testing electrified vehicles from several manufacturers for years, including Arrival, Daimler, and Workhorse. Big Brown’s fleet includes some 9,300 low-emission vehicles – not only EVs and hybrids, but vehicles powered by hydraulic systems, ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) and propane.

“UPS believes in the future of commercial electric vehicles. We want to support the research needed to make advances and the companies developing those innovative products,” said Carlton Rose, President, Global Fleet Maintenance and Engineering. “Performance is critical in our fleet.”

“We’re excited about working with a forward-thinking company like UPS, particularly as our first collaboration,” said Dakota Semler, co-founder and CEO of Thor Trucks. “UPS is committed to sustainability and operates one of the most well-respected and complex fleets in the country. This is also an incredibly valuable opportunity to gain insight into what it will take to fulfill our mission of getting entire electric fleets on the road.”

Source: UPS