Nov 30 - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News - Reed Fujii The Record, Stockton, Calif.

Port of Stockton officials today expect to take delivery of four electric utility vehicles to replace an aging fleet of gasoline-powered pickup trucks.

The vehicles are produced by the Global Electric Motorcars, or GEM, division of Daimler-Chrysler, said Mark Tollini, port deputy director.

He described them as small trucks with a two-seat cab and a long, flat bed in the back with a stake rail.

The battery-powered GEMs will be used by port maintenance workers, clerks and other employees to make short trips around the sprawling complex.

"These will allow us to park those other vehicles and, hopefully, make some small contribution to the environment here," Tollini said.

The shift to electric vehicles is one sign of trend toward environmentally friendly practices by ports up and down the West Coast, he added.

"It's not just Stockton."

Tollini said the street legal vehicles will cost the port about $10,000 apiece.