6. As a result of these proven experiences we have become convinced that the English electric vehicle technology as available from Smith and other English firms will not be adequate for a much larger and important segment of the delivery truck usage in the U.S. urban areas where pollution and noise are a growing menace. Therefore, present English electric chassis components are the limiting factor to performance of the Battronic truck program. However, we have found that American electrical and automotive component industry, while exceedingly interested, are reluctant to invest in the necessary research and development costs needed to develop a new family of electrical and automotive components including such important items as higher voltage, solid state controllers, super duty but lightweight motors with possible regenerating and dynamic braking capacity-the special axle and power trains needed plus the lightweight solid state battery rechargers for those vehicles that require frequent recharging during the operating cycle. The Battronic Truck Corp. has available to it the manufacturing and marketing capabilities to supply needed quantities of battery-powered electric delivery trucks for such uses as delivering the U.S. mail on a large segment of the multistop urban mail routes. By providing the funds in the two bills proposed, the U.S. Government agencies could initiate development contracts to American industries with proven technical and production know-how to provide the needed components to enable construction to begin now, in replacing multistop vehicles now in service, but noisily polluting the air and performing delivery service most at higher operating costs than the electric battery-powered vehicles such as the present model of the Battronic truck. These will provide the needed incentive for other fleet operators to avail themselves to provide their customers with delivery truck services that will not add to their discomfort and ill health. The representative from the battery industry, Mr. J. A. McIlnay, vice president, planning and marketing, of the Electric Storage Battery Co., has already testified that today's modern electric storage battery with the development such as made to date for the Battronic truck in adapting these modern electric power storage systems to specially designed vehicles can now begin solving the vexing urban delivery vehicle problems. Of course, future developments of other battery and fuel cell systems will bring greater utility and economic advantages, but the need is now-the components, other than the battery are more urgently needed now to replace the limited components available in production quantities from foreign sources. I earnestly endorse the legislative efforts of Senators Warren G. Magnuson and Edmund S. Muskie and urge prompt action to augment our own humble efforts and those of the vehicle industry who have the enterprise to produce these needed vehicles both for passenger-urban transit and multistop delivery. Our Government has always recognized its responsibility to share in the cost and development of the necessary transportation when the private sector needed the encouragement, such as railroads and airports. We believe that any money allocated here will be well spent and will return dividends to the general public in helping alleviate some of the automotive air pollution and creating new economic contributions by encouraging the development of the electric vehicle products and in further utilizing off peak electric power for this vital service of transportation. The photographs that appear in the brochure presented to you illustrate present capabilities and development of a practical batterypowered electric vehicle and the product available now to start utilizing any developments of this type.1 Mr. Chairman, may I ask that such portions of the brochure which you deem suitable be printed? Senator SPONG. It is so ordered. (The following portion of the brochure was subsequently placed in the record:) BATTRONIC BATTERY POWERED TRUCKS Aluminum "merchandiser" body with "multalloy" construction. Powered by two Industrial-type batteries. The Battronic battery powered truck is designed for any multi-stop use. For the delivery of milk, bread, dry-cleaning, laundry, messenger service, most any mobile need. Enough power is stored in the twin industrial-type batteries, after a nights recharging, to drive the truck over a 40 to 60 mile route with approximately a 2500 pound load at speeds from 15 to 25 miles per hour, depending upon the load and grade. This battery powered vehicle is route and performance proven. Electricity, its source of power is inexpensive. Recharging or fueling-up is done during those hours the truck is not on the route. Maintenance expense is low in comparison to the more complicated combustion engine vehicle. There is no starting trouble on cold days. No fuel stop en route. No lost fuel from idling motor at traffic lights and traffic tie-ups. A greater safety record results from the slower operating speeds. No contamination of the air from engine exhausts. As referred to above, the Boyertown Body Works, which I represent as president, has been engaged in the development of delivery vehicles for the urban areas. This company started in 1872, so it goes back to the wagon and Model "T" days and on up until today. In fact, in the early days we actually made bodies for the early electric truck industry as it then existed. And we have been involved with the development of the multistop, forward-control delivery vehicles, as you see them on the streets delivering the many, many items important to our economy. We were uniquely thrown into this several years ago when it became evident that there were three companies that were involved in electricvehicle production, each in their own way. And they had a common interest, so Battronic Truck was formed by the Exide Division of Electric Storage Battery Co. We are fortunate in having Mr. Heyman here to testify today who is the former director of the Smith Delivery Vehicle Co. of England, and a former director of Battronic Truck Corp. So we have been building and are now building practical vehicles that operate at restricted, but adequate speeds for the kind of services that they are doing daily. And, therefore, I can speak that we are in a position to know the capabilities of batteries, motors, and controllers, as are now available from the English sources. And, incidentally, these are the only practical and known production items that are currently available. By combining these items, we know what the present technology is capable of doing. And it is doing a good job and could do much more to alleviate this problem that you are confronted with. Unfortunately, when we talk about Americanizing the present model electric chassis by making use of some of the major capacities that our 1 The photographs referred to appear in the committee files. industry has, we discover that, yes, they are interested, and very much interested, but they do not find available funds in their budgets for their many requests for research and development, and, particularly, the automotive people today are concerned about their problems with the new safety requirements, so that this electric vehicle for this small segment of a large automotive industry gets very little attention from the possibilities of engineering and development by the automotive industry. And so we have not been able to get motors of the capacity that is needed, of the larger capacities than are available now from the English successful vehicles. And so we believe, and that is why I am here today to support and to recommend S. 451 and S. 453, because we believe this does permit the Government, with a minimal of subsidy relatively, to encourage and influence the vast industry to get busy with the technology that we know is needed. I am just going to conclude with a simple little homespun Pennsylvania Dutch story that pretty well, I think, tells the point. I come from a little town of Boyertown in Berks County, Pa., right in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch area. Our local volunteer fire company raises funds to get new apparatus, and so on. So they have their regular roast beef suppers, and so they put a sign out in front of their firehall encouraging the local people with their problem. So the sign_reads, "You come to our supper, we will go to your fire." [Laughter.] So the answer is this: If you will come to our "supper," help us in a small way to encourage industry, we will come to your "fire" and help put out the pollution, because we have the know-how, and we know it is possible today, now, with our technology. We need the help to move the electric vehicles into the greater area where it can do the most good. Senator SPONG. Mr. Hafer, do you have any estimate of how many delivery vehicles of the type demonstrated here with your formal statement are presently in use in the United States? Mr. HAFER. Oh, there are just a handful, relatively. It is too bad that the stigma that usually goes with any expert when he discusses electric vehicles, "the kind that Grandma used to run," the idea of associating the electric truck with the antique vehicle. The facts are, of course, all of these people enjoy riding around in a modern electric golf cart which has proven its worth. These very same people are using in their industry vast quantities of efficient, practical, nonpolluting electric lift trucks and material handling trucks of all types, elevators and other things using electric power efficiently, and many of them battery-powered with the same batteries that are described, that are modern and can do the job today. Sure, you will have these exotic batteries. Sure, these power sources will come. How will they come? They will come when the vehicles are in numerous operations and the needs will be determined, that will bring forth development much sooner. The high-powered "Mustang" car today is a result of the demand for the necessary power and comfort. What we need is to get "with it" today. Get going now. Senator SPONG. Senator Griffin, do you have any questions? Senator GRIFFIN. Is the fact that there are only a handful in the country entirely and completely due to an attitude that it is old fashioned to have them? Is that the only reason? Mr. HAFER. Yes. We have successful operators that are thrilled with the economy, the ease, the quietness, the lack of pollution, the effectiveness and yet we put the same vehicle in the hands of a "Teamster" driver, who is used to having that surge of unnecessary noisy power, and he is disconcerted that he has to take the time, as he thinks, to move along slowly. Well, the actual fact is that the driver who really conditions himself to the need and to the practicability of the vehicle, soon discovers that he gets around his route faster because he has only to push a lever and move forward and release it to stop and quietly too. It doesn't even use any power when it is stopped. I think that top management must decide to stop polluting the air, to stop making the noise, to do this job efficiently by using the electric truck then of course the driver will put it to work. Senator GRIFFIN. Pricewise, are you able to compete with a vehicle of a similar nature? Mr. HAFER. Yes. Since the concept of the meter plan that Exide introduced which is a tremendous step forward, in making the battery and the charger available as a leasing cost, which becomes a fuel cost, without having to make a capital investment in the battery, and chargers, it's possible to build a vehicle that compares favorably with a truck, the same size, and is capable of doing the same job with the same number of stops, 300, 350 stops a day, 20, 30 miles travel, for the delivery route and has plenty of reserve to come back. That vehicle has a price tag of approximately $4,500, and this compares favorably with a vehicle of the same quality and the same capacity, for example, as produced by the Divco Corp. of Detroit, which is gasoline engine powered. And the two alongside of each other would be pretty hard to tell them apart. Senator GRIFFIN. The previous witness made a statement, or leveled a charge, to the effect that the big automobile companies, consciously or unconsciously, aren't going into this field very aggressively because of their dealer situation and their reliance for services. Do you have any opinion? Mr. HAFER. I think this particularly would apply to the automobile or the passenger vehicle. As far as the fleet operation of vehicles of the type we are describing, in large numbers which spew out their share of pollutants in the downtown area, principally because every time each truck stops the motor keeps idling. It produces its most contamination at the time it isn't even moving, when it is just standing still. The fleet operator, of course, does take care of servicing his own trucks. But the fact is that this particular phase of the industry, speaking about the electric delivery truck industry, is a comparatively small portion of the total market for trucks and for automobiles. The big automobile companies are notorious for their way of developing their markets. As soon as the demand for volume of electric vehicles is brought up to marketable standards, they will become very much interested, and rightly so. So I think it is a market that must be developed by industry of a type like ours. And it will have to be brought to a marketable volume, then the motor companies will be very ready to come in and market it, produce it. They have the capabilities, yes. But they have many, many demands by their sales organization for development of vehicles in many classes, over-the-road highway tractors and the like. And they are not going to look at electric vehicles until the day the market becomes measured by thousands. Then they will be ready to participate. Senator GRIFFIN. No further questions. Senator SPONG. Well, Mr. Hafer, we thank you very much for giving us the benefit of your testimony. Mr. HAFER. Thank you. It is a privilege to be here. Senator SPONG. Mr. Heyman, a gentleman who has traveled from England to give us the benefit of his testimony is next. Mr. Heyman. STATEMENT OF HORACE HEYMAN, OVERSEAS SERVICES, LTD., WHICKHAM, NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND Mr. HEYMAN. Mr. Chairman. Senator SPONG. Good morning, Mr. Heyman, and thank you very much for being with us. Mr. HEYMAN. It is a great honor to be here, sir. It was with some considerable trepidation that I accepted your kind invitation to testify here today on electric-vehicle development in the United Kingdom. I realized at once that my task would be a difficult one and am naturally somewhat diffident about extolling British progress in a country which, for us, is already the acknowledged world leader in so many aspects of transport development on the ground, in the air, and in space. However, I hope that our experience in Britain may help you in your desire to promote the development of this form of hygienic, fume-free, and silent transportation. I have been connected with the electric-vehicle industry all my professional life on both the technical and manufacturing side and am, therefore, very much aware of the undoubted advantages as well as of the present-day limitations of electric vehicles. Many times in the past I have had to say: We cannot do this now. But in a fastchanging world it is not always possible to foresee so many months ahead what will be suitable and appropriate tomorrow. But today I feel that the most typical subject of all is change itself and this makes me confident that the many important scientific innovations coming along thick and fast will transform the whole picture of transportation in many spectacular and novel ways. We in Britain, too, understand that technological advances, in an increasingly wealthy society must be interrelated with political and economic change and that these are bound to affect a country's approach to its transport philosophy in relation to environmental problems. Of these, perhaps the most important are the hazards to health due to air pollution. While readily acknowledging U.S. leadership in so many fields of technical endeavor, there is one field where Britain may be considered to be somewhat ahead, perhaps for no other reason than that a number of somewhat peculiar conditions have favored us. With us there already exists a completely viable, if by American standards, relatively small industry producing electric commercial road vehicles in useful numbers. Moreover, many of the new developments in unconventional and exotic methods of energy conversion may well have had their origins in England as a result of the work done by Bacon on the first workable Oxygen-hydrogen fuel cell. Much basic work has been and is being done in England on other ancillary electric-vehicle devices such as the |