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ELECTRIC FUTURE SUPERSPRINGS INTERNATIONAL<br />
A better journey into<br />
the electric future<br />
Retrofitting existing vehicles to make them electric is an idea that sounds too good<br />
to be true. And it almost was had it not been for a pioneering partnership between<br />
two very innovative companies. Here’s how Lightning eMotors and SuperSprings<br />
International work together to make the journey better.<br />
W<br />
■e all know that electric<br />
vehicles are a huge part<br />
of the future for the<br />
campervan and leisure vehicle<br />
industry, but while many of the<br />
big manufacturers out there<br />
are working hard to create<br />
new space-age vehicle designs,<br />
there are others who take a<br />
different view. Colorado-based<br />
Lightning eMotors began its<br />
mission by asking itself: “what<br />
will happen with the multitude<br />
of vehicles already on the road<br />
now?”. The simple answer?<br />
They can be retrofitted. For the<br />
past few years, Lightning has<br />
been creating fully electrified<br />
engines that they then drop<br />
into what would otherwise be<br />
a traditionally powered vehicle.<br />
They can turn any cargo van,<br />
shuttle bus or campervan into<br />
a silent, electric vehicle that’s<br />
nothing like the ones you’ve<br />
seen before, simply because it<br />
looks like a regular vehicle.<br />
“We’ve been doing electric<br />
vehicle refits on a huge variety<br />
of chassis,” explains Chelsea<br />
Ramm, the vice president of<br />
global supply chain at Lightning<br />
eMotors. We’ve also been doing<br />
it for so many years that we<br />
can do it on an old chassis, a<br />
2016 vehicle, or a vehicle that<br />
was built this year <strong>–</strong> we have<br />
the engineering capability and<br />
expertise to be able to do that.”<br />
Okay, so the idea of<br />
retrofitting a vehicle to change<br />
it from standard combustion<br />
engine to electric might<br />
sound like the stuff of science<br />
fiction, but Lightning has<br />
the case studies to prove it<br />
really works. The company has<br />
completed a successful retrofit<br />
on an entire DHL delivery<br />
fleet in New York city using<br />
a full system that includes<br />
batteries, powertrain, and smart<br />
computer for the Ford Transit<br />
350HD. The all-electric<br />
powertrain and integration<br />
allows DHL to operate a fleet<br />
34 | www.campingtradeworld.com
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