Smith Electric Vehicles has ceased all operations due to lack of funding, according to a statement issued by one its shareholders this week.
Tanfield Group, which owns 5.76% of share capital in the electric truck firm, said: “In August 2016, the board of Smith stated that it planned to centralise its operations in the United States while retaining a presence in the UK as a branch of Smith USA Corp, but due to a lack of funding, it recently ceased all activity in both the United States and the UK.”
Tanfield had previously taken the decision for the year ended 31 December 2015 to “impair the investment value of Smith to nil” due to the uncertainty around its future and the level of funding it required.
Freightinthecity.com understands that the CEO of Smith Electric Vehicles, John Dixon, has retired from the board and that the remaining members are exploring possible funding options.
“The board of Smith also stated that there was no guarantee they will be successful in raising the required funds and that without funding it is unlikely that Smith would remain solvent,” Tanfield added.
In an exclusive interview with Freight in the City last year, the company shared its comeback plans as it believed the time was right for industry to embrace electric trucks.
Its aim was to bring its latest generation of electric trucks to the UK this spring, thanks to a fresh injection of funding from a US investor.
Smith Electric Vehicles, responded and said that "we have paused the operation - not ceased it - and the board are working on getting the company back on track".
