TORRANCE, CA – Electric drive system developer Enova Systems Inc. said a pre-production vehicle  -- resulting from the company’s “Green for Free” initiative with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. -- will be on display at the Portland International Auto Show Jan. 26-29.

The Green for Free program is designed to allow fleet executives to operate all-electric commercial vehicles for similar lifecycle costs as those of diesel-powered commercial vehicles. The savings that they're expected to realize from the reduced maintenance and fuel costs are used over a period of time to cover the incremental expense for the technology. 

Fleet vehicles targeted for the Green for Free program possess characteristics that make them clear beneficiaries of electric drive technology. With more than 16.3 million vehicles in operation, the nation’s fleets possess enough capacity to drive initial ramp-up scale in the EV OEM supply chains, Enova said.

This program is designed to eliminate the overall incremental costs associated with buying and operating an all-electric vehicle for both large and small fleets, the company noted. Freightliner Custom Chassis Corp. and Enova plan to gradually deploy a total of 3,000 alternative-fuel vehicles beginning in the second half of 2012 as a result of the Green for Free program. 

Based in Torrance, Calif., Enova Systems develops electric vehicle and hybrid electric vehicle solutions for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses.