TORRANCE, CA - Enova Systems Inc., a developer of hybrid and electric drive systems, said it has moved toward large-scale production of its all-electric drive system for the Smith Newton battery-electric-powered production truck.

Smith has placed an order for 50 units of Enova's 120kW drive system. This order follows two from earlier in the year, totaling 120 units for the year thus far. The units will be installed into the Smith Newton truck in Kansas City.

"Enova has engineered their drive systems to easily and non-invasively integrate with our vehicle," said Bryan Hansel, CEO of Smith Electric Vehicles. "We look forward to expanding our relationship with Enova via a long-term supply agreement that will allow us and our suppliers to maximize penetration and cost effectiveness through high-volume orders."

The order for 50 Enova 120kW drive systems is on track to culminate in a total order of over 250 by the year's end. Smith Electric U.S. was recently awarded a $32 million grant by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to offset the cost of future vehicle development and to give customers incentive to participate in a vehicle demonstration program.

"Enova is pleased to partner with Smith in this major milestone toward greening our nation's commercial trucks. We are enthusiastic that the funding and recent visit by President Obama validate our confidence that the market is about to grow rapidly," said Enova CEO and President Mike Staran. "Smith Electric shares our commitment to innovating zero-emissions vehicle technologies, and to making these technologies more readily available as well as economically viable. We look forward to moving our partnership, and clean vehicle technology forward."