Smith Electric Vehicles has signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture  with Taikang Technology Corp. in Taiwan.

Taikang Technology, a commercial vehicle manufacturer in Taiwan, has twenty-five years of automotive experience and has expertise in upfitting specialized municipal commercial vehicles.

Smith Electric and Taikang Technology intend to enter into a definitive licensing agreement, which will cover the assembly and distribution of all-electric vehicles in Taiwan, opening up an important new market for Smith Electric.

The vehicles will be Smith Electric branded and the joint venture will help Smith Electric to strengthen and further build its global manufacturing presence. The joint venture’s first three years of production is anchored by a 5,000 vehicle commitment, including transformation of a significant portion of the country’s municipal garbage truck fleet.

The initial trucks will be Newton and Edison model vehicles configured for garbage pick-up and transport. Smith Electric will have the sole sourcing and procurement rights for its proprietary Smith Drive, Smith Power and Smith Link components. Taikang Technology has been working closely with a number of Taiwanese government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, on transforming its fleet of refuse trucks to all-electric, and represents an excellent local partner for Smith Electric.

The joint venture agreement will also cover the creation of a new manufacturing plant in Taiwan, which will create a number of new jobs over multiple years.