A three ton e-Van with 100 miles of range.

Chanje’s vision sounds a lot like Tesla’s: electric vehicles recharged via clean rooftop solar power.

But the new company has no interest in the automobile market. Instead, it’s entering what it believes to be a lucrative niche in medium-duty electric trucks.

Few such trucks exist. Most medium-duty electric trucks are internal-combusion vehicles hand-converted to run on electric motors and batteries.

Chanje’s trucks are not concept vehicles or prototypes. They’re ready for sale, and the Los Angeles company plans to begin selling or leasing them within weeks.

Okay, a quibble here. They are not “ready for sale” if I can’t buy them today.

He wouldn’t get specific on pricing, but contends that monthly lease amounts will be “at parity” with leases for diesel-engine competitors once lower maintenance costs and net fuel savings are figured in. He said buyers of such trucks consider price and financial return above all other considerations.

Translation: Prepare for sticker shock, but factor in all the costs, specifically fuel and maintenance, which will be a lot less than a standard ICE van.

That model is to sell into the delivery market, where routes typically run 50 to 70 miles a day, well within an electric battery’s range. Range on current Chanje vehicles is about 100 miles.

I make it a rule to discount all range claims not verified by the EPA 20%-25%. But, even if it only has 75-80 miles of range, that is still more than enough for a lot of businesses, especially if they can charge during lunch.