No Gas. No Flame. Just Zero Emissions - Electra and Marvtech Unveil the First Fully Electric Hotbox Truck for Highway Fleets
Electra Commercial Vehicles and Marvtech Truck Bodies have partnered to bring a fully integrated electric hotbox truck to market – Marvtech’s e-Hotbox body on Electra’s eCargo SEIV 19-350 chassis.
The hotbox truck has long been one of the hardest vehicles in highway maintenance to decarbonise. Sustained heating demands, heavy payload requirements, and the operational realities of overnight live-road working have made generic EV platforms a poor fit. This vehicle is built for exactly that duty cycle.
The vehicle runs a 280kWh Lithium Iron Phosphate battery with active thermal management and a 350kW permanent magnet direct-drive motor. At 19t GVW there’s no compromise on payload. DC fast charge takes the pack from 20–80% in under 70 minutes – a charged vehicle, ready for the next shift, in just over an hour.
How the Electric Hotbox System Works
The e-Hotbox draws power directly from the vehicle’s high-voltage battery via Electra’s Electric Power Take-Off, feeding six 2,500W resistance heating elements at 400V AC – 15kW total installed capacity, thermostatically controlled across single or twin zones. A pre-heating function via before departure optimises range.
Removing LPG from the vehicle goes beyond the emissions headline. It eliminates onsite gas storage, removes open-flame risk during operation, and cuts manual handling demands on crews – a meaningful improvement for site safety and H&S compliance. Tipping is governed by an ePTO interlock. No live flame. No stored gas. Safety is significantly improved.
Why Chassis-Body Integration Matters
for Highway Maintenance Fleet Decarbonisation
Electra works with body builders at specification stage – ePTO, battery capacity, and powertrain configured around the body’s operational demands, not retrofitted to them. For a duty cycle as demanding as highway maintenance – overnight shifts, sustained heating loads, live-road stop-start operation – that level of integration is what makes the difference between a vehicle that works and one that compromises.
This vehicle is built for local authorities, highways contractors, and Tier 1 maintenance operators running or planning zero emission highway maintenance fleets. If that’s you, the infrastructure and operational case is straightforward – and the vehicle is ready.
Once in service fleet managers get full visibility of carbon and cost savings through Electra’s Info-Centre portal: battery state of charge, energy use, CO₂ versus diesel, and driver efficiency data, without third-party telematics.
See It for Yourself
The vehicle will be officially launched at Road Transport Expo (RTX), NAEC Stoneleigh, 30 June – 2 July 2026. Find Electra and Marvtech together at Stand P11. If you’re operating highway maintenance fleets and want to see our electric hotbox truck in person, come and find us. If you can’t make the show, get in touch with the Electra team to arrange a demonstration.
For further details, technical specifications, or to arrange a demonstrator trial, please visit www.electracommercialvehicles.com or email enquiries@electracommercialvehicles.com
