U.S. Army to Lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles

January 14, 2009

The U.S. Army announced on January 12 that it will lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) over the next three years. NEVs are small, low-speed electric vehicles that cannot be driven on highways, although some states allow their use on local roads. The Army plans to use NEVs at its bases for transporting people around the base, as well as for security patrols and maintenance and delivery services. The Army accepted its first six NEVs at Virginia's Fort Myer on January 12 and will lease a total of 600 NEVs this year, followed by the leasing of 1,600 NEVs for each of the following two years. With a full eight-hour recharge, the NEVs can travel 30 miles at a top speed of 25 miles per hour. See the Army press release.