Detroit Custom Chassis is installing Motiv Power Systems’ all-electric EPIC chassis on the base Ford F-59 commercial truck platform.
As a Ford Motor Co. eQVM certified producer, the California-based Motiv worked with DCC to optimize production requirements of the EPIC chassis to enable it to seamlessly slot into the same assembly lines producing internal combustion engine-powered chassis. Moving forward, Motiv’s all-electric powered 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,” says Matt O’Leary, CEO of Motiv. “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 itself. With the scale we are focused on achieving in order to meet market demand, this represents a significant step forward for Motiv.”
Detroit Custom Chassis’ plant, a 220,000-square-foot assembly facility on 33 acres in Detroit, has capacity to build up to 90,000 chassis a year.
“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,” says Michael Guthrie, co-chairman and CEO of DCC. “We are excited to now finally be able to showcase the Motiv EPIC chassis rolling out of our facility. 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. It was a natural fit for us to be in the forefront of that market shift.”
The first customer deliveries of Motiv Epic chassis originating from DCC are expected in the first quarter 2019.
