Army receives first of 4,000 NEVs.

DELIVERY of six small, battery-powered "neighborhood electric vehicles" to Fort Myer, Va., in January represents the beginning of a leasing action by the Army to obtain more than 4,000 of the NEVs.

Secretary of the Army Pete Geren said the service will receive a total of 800 NEVs in 2009, and an additional 1,600 of the golf-cart sized vehicles in both 2010 and 2011.

The vehicles will help the Army save money in both acquisition and in fuel savings, he said. Though there will be a small cost associated with installing infrastructure to charge the vehicles--about $800,000 total--that cost will be eclipsed by the savings, he said.

"The Army is committed to substantially reducing the greenhouse gas emissions through our acquisition of Neighborhood Electric Vehicles," Geren said. "This historic acquisition will constitute the largest acquisition of electric vehicles not just in the military, but in the entire country."

Acquisition of the NEVs will help the Army "go green" by preventing the release of some 218.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide into the environment, the secretary said.

The initial contract for 4,000 leased NEVs will cost less than the gasoline-powered vehicles they replace--$3,300 less than a gasoline-powered sedan, for instance, and $13,000 less than a hybrid vehicle, Geren said.

The NEVs will be used to replace non-tactical vehicles only, Geren said. "The Army operates almost 68,000 non-tactical vehicles," he said.

The Global Electric Motorcars division of the Chrysler Corporation manufactured the first group of NEVs. The vehicles come in several variants, including passenger vehicles and cargo-carrying vehicles--the largest of which carries a payload up to 1,450 pounds.

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--ARNEWS/C. Todd Lopez