Motiv Power Systems has announced that Detroit Custom Chassis (DCC) is assembling Motiv’s zero-emissions EPIC chassis, based on the Ford platform, alongside the gasoline-powered Ford F-59 chassis.
The platform will be assembled by DCC’s affiliate, Detroit Chassis Plant (DCP). Spectra owns both DCC and DCP. According to Motiv, the assembly of its EPIC chassis at DCP enables more efficient and cost-effective production and reduced build times.
As a Ford eQVM-certified producer, Motiv worked with DCC to optimize production requirements of the EPIC chassis to enable it to seamlessly slot into the same assembly lines that produce internal combustion engine-powered chassis. Moving forward, Motiv’s all-electric chassis will be based on Ford gliders – meaning no powertrain or drivetrain components will need to be removed in preparation for assembly.
“DCP has long served as the production facility for Ford’s F-59 commercial truck chassis. Since a number of our EPIC chassis variants are based on Ford’s F-59, it made perfect sense to implement an OEM build process that closely mirrors the one used by Ford themselves,” says Matt O’Leary, Motiv’s CEO. “With the scale we are focused on achieving in order to meet market demand, this represents a significant step forward for Motiv.”
Production is already under way at DCP, which has the capacity to build up to 90,000 chassis a year at its 220,000-square-foot assembly plant on 33 acres in Detroit.
“Detroit Chassis has been in high-level strategic discussions with Motiv going back to 2012, and planning for the F-59 rollout accelerated in 2018. We are excited to now finally be able to showcase the Motiv EPIC chassis rolling out of our facility,” adds Michael Guthrie, co-chairman and CEO of DCP. “We couldn’t be happier to see Motiv take a leadership position as the first EV commercial chassis produced by our facility. We expect that over time, electric chassis will sell in similar and eventually even greater numbers than gasoline- and diesel-powered equivalents.”
The first customer deliveries are expected this quarter.
