Tevva has unveiled new 7.5-tonne electric truck intended for mass production in the UK, with pre-orders available now and first deliveries from Q3 2022.

Offering a range of up to 160 miles (250 km) in pure battery electric vehicle (BEV) form or up to 310 miles (500 km) with its patented range extender technology (REX), which has now been upgraded to use hydrogen fuel cells.

Engineered by a team led by Ken Scott, formerly engineering director at both Bentley and Alexander Dennis, and styled by Dale Grewer, former chief designer at Jaguar Land Rover, the Tevva Truck will be manufactured in a brand-new facility in the London Thames Freeport.

The 11,000m2 manufacturing plant is set to create an additional 1,000 skilled mechanical, software, engineering, and manufacturing jobs in the next 24 months, adding to the 60 plus jobs already created this year.

Tevva’s London factory is initially expected to begin manufacturing 3,000 trucks per annum by 2023.

Asher Bennett, founder and CEO of Tevva, said: “Technology is transforming the commercial vehicle sector at pace, making it safer, greener, and entirely more efficient. But meaningful change is a gradual process, it must happen one step at a time, even if those changes are needed in fast succession.

“The Tevva Truck provides a natural transition into electrification for fleet managers, providing total peace of mind and a compelling total cost of ownership proposition, with no compromise on range and reliability and minimised compromise on payload.”

For fleet managers concerned about range, the Tevva Truck will offer range extension technology with its REX solution available for delivery in 2023.

Its hydrogen fuel cells recharge the battery on the move, allowing the Tevva Truck with the integrated REX technology to fulfil longer duty cycles and carry heavier loads even further.

Future technical developments already being tested will enable the Tevva Truck to be fully charged in just one hour.

It can carry up to 16 euro pallets and over two tonnes payload at 7.5-tonnes Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW). The total cost of ownership is comparable to a diesel; parity is achieved at approximately 3,000 km or when 500 litres of diesel is consumed per month, says the manufacturer.

The Tevva Truck is Tevva’s third generation vehicle, representing the culmination of seven years of engineering development and the learning gathered from over 200,000 miles (350,000 km) of in-fleet trials.

Production of the Tevva Truck is due to commence in July 2022, with further details expected in the coming months.