KANSAS CITY, MO - Smith Electric Vehicles Corp., a manufacturer of all-electric commercial vehicles, will expand its U.S. operations by adding a manufacturing facility in South Bronx, New York City, creating up to 100 new direct local jobs, according to a release from the manufacturer.

Smith will manufacture the zero-emission Newton, its all-electric medium-duty vehicle, at the new facility beginning in the second half of 2012. A package of city and state incentives of approximately $11 million will augment Smith's private investment. The new facility -- Smith's second U.S. manufacturing, sales, and service center -- will not affect production or job levels at Smith's headquarters in Kansas City, Mo., the release stated.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced the development of a federally-funded, multi-year commercial electric vehicle (EV) buyer incentive program to accelerate adoption of commercial EVs and allow for strategic fleet conversion throughout New York State. The program, with an expected run of five years, has been tailored to help companies in the state convert significant portions of their fleets as a result of the ability to plan with vouchers available over multiple years. The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has committed $10 million in federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for the first year, which will be offered in the form of vouchers of up to $20,000 per vehicle. The program will be managed by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and will offer voucher incentives to the purchasers of any qualified all-electric vehicle with more than 10,000 lbs. GVW (Class 3-8) -- regardless of manufacturer.

Program development is expected to be completed in spring 2012. GF has confirmed with NYSERDA that this program will be open to public sector fleets.