The commercial electric truck maker Smith Electric Vehicles has suspended production for an unspecified period of time.

The Kansas City Star reports production was suspended at the end of last year, according to documents the company filed with the U.S. Energy Department, due to tight cash flow.

The DOE awarded the company $32 million in grants during 2009 and 2010 to produce more than 500 vehicles to be placed in various fleets across the U.S., however, only 439 have reportedly been produced. The Energy Department says it is working with the company to produce the remaining vehicles.

Smith Electric Vehicles has placed its products in fleets such as Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay and Staples, among others, since arriving in Kansas City, Mo. in 2009, but has had other problems since then.

In 2012 it pulled back on plans for an initial public offering of stock and scaled back production, according to the newspaper, while plans to begin production of trucks in both New York City and Chicago never came to fruition.

Last summer, Smith announced that with 700 vehicles and 5 million miles of operation it was "transitioning into the commercial manufacturing phase."

Critics say they aren’t surprised, saying it was already “a failed company” based in the United Kingdom. Smith Electric Vehicles U.S. in 2010 bought the UK-based parent company.

Read more about it from the Kansas City Star and the National Legal and Policy Center.

HDT editors attempted to reach Smith Electric Vehicle officials but were not immediately successful.

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