THE first electric truck has rolled off the production line of a US factory, part-owned by a North-East company.

Smith Electric Vehicles US Corp (SEV US Corp), which is 49 per cent owned by Wearside-based Tanfield Group, has produced the first Smith Newton truck at its Kansas City International Airport facility.

Smith Electric Vehicles in the UK is temporarily shipping over the trucks in kit form, while five British workers train the US workforce.

The firm is producing 12 Smith Newton electric trucks this month – six from British kits, followed by six builds from scratch.

Darren Kell, chief executive of The Tanfield Group, which owns Smith Electric Vehicles, said: “We are delighted to support SEV US Corp as it moves towards full production of the Smith Newton electric truck.”

The factory employs 14 people, but anticipates trebling that number by the end of this year.

SEV US Corp, which was established by the Tanfield Group and US investors in February, owns the licence to assemble and sell the Newton in North America.

All design and product development work is conducted by Smith Electric Vehicles in the UK.