ALTe Powertrain Technologies, which has converted dozens of Ford F150 trucks to PHEVs, announced this week that it has successfully installed its system on the Ford Econoline E350 platform. The E350 is very popular with fleet operators, who are likely EV customers because of the high mileage they tend to put on their vehicles – typically two to five times as high as individual drivers, according to ALTe. The company’s approach is to convert existing trucks to plug-ins to deliver major fuel savings.

“This successful conversion is another example of how ALTe’s plug-in electric hybrid powertrain will revolutionize the fleet industry,” said John Thomas, CEO of ALTe. “With this new conversion, ALTe sees a huge opportunity to reach more fleet customers and show them how their used fleet vehicles can gain a second life with better fuel economy when equipped with an ALTe powertrain.”

In ALTe’s road tests, its E350 cutaway chassis prototype achieved a range of 25 miles in all-electric mode. For a vehicle that drives 45 miles per day, combined fuel economy would be over 30mpg, compared to a mere 9mpg for a comparable E350 with a V8 engine.

ALTe will deliver its E350 prototype to a potential customer this month, and is planning on a Spring 2013 launch in the US.

Image: Ford