Bollinger Motors has announced plans to offer rear-wheel drive and dually variants of their B2 Chass-E Cab and Chass-E. Designed to appeal to commercial fleets, the new variants are significantly cheaper than their all-wheel drive counterparts.
In particular, the B2 Chass-E Cab starts
at US$ 70,000 with rear-wheel drive. Dually variants are rear-wheel drive only and
add US$ 2,500 to the sticker price. That’s pretty reasonable, especially when you
consider the all-wheel drive model starts at US$ 100,000.
The Chass-E, on the other hand, eschews a
body and this allows customers to build a purpose-built vehicle around the
electric platform. The rear-wheel drive variant starts at US$ 55,000 while the
dually version goes for US$ 57,500. With all-wheel drive, the price climbs to US$ 80,000. The Chass-Es will have a 140 kWh battery pack and a range in excess of 322 km. They’ll also be pretty hardcore as they boast a
hydro-pneumatic suspension, 381 mm of ground clearance and a 2,268 kg payload capacity.
Production is slated to begin next year
and CEO Robert Bollinger said “There’s nothing on the market, or in
development, like our all-electric Class 3 work trucks.” He went on to say the
new variants will enable them to offer a “whole range of options to commercial
fleets looking to electrify,” while adding “our trucks kick ass and now they
kick ass three ways!”
In other news, Bollinger revealed they’re
looking to electrify existing vehicles with “suspended battery packs” that have
capacities of 67 and 134 kWh. They’d be mounted to the frames of higher class
trucks (Class 4+) and be joined by a suspended HV component pack as well as an
electric rear axle. This is a neat idea as it would enable existing fleets to
go electric.
