As heavy-duty battery-electric trucks proliferate, the need for qualified repair technicians is growing, and training programs and companies are rushing to adapt. “In the last six months, the demand on the battery-electric side has just been crazy, the amount of growth that we’ve seen,” said Jason Shearer, VP for Service at the Velocity Vehicle Group,… Read more »
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The heavy-duty electric truck market could break out in 2024
Electrifying heavy-duty trucks is essential if we’re to fight climate change and air pollution, but the pace of the transition has been painfully slow—many, many pilots, but few truly large-scale orders. For example, shipping giant Schneider acquired 92 Freightliner eCascadias in 2023—a good start, but only that, considering that the company currently operates over 10,000… Read more »
GM’s rosy year-end figures obscure the fact that legacy automakers are in deep trouble
Duplicitous doublespeak has become de rigueur dialect in the auto industry. “We remain committed to an all-electric future,” says GM as it announces a rollback of its electrification plans. “We strongly believe in EVs,” say auto dealers as they support efforts to slow the EV transition. “The greatest responsibility for us as a company is… Read more »
Range Energy’s smart trailers boost electric truck range
Towing has always been a sore point with EVs—towing a trailer inevitably eats into range, and towing a massive semi-trailer requires a tractor with a massive battery pack. But what if the trailer itself could share the burden? That’s the idea behind Range Energy, which is developing a trailer that’s equipped with a battery pack,… Read more »
ICCT report: deploying charging infrastructure in key freight corridors would enable meeting EPA emissions goals
A favorite argument of the anti-EV crowd (or perhaps I should say, the crowd that “loves EVs,” but just wants to delay adoption for a decade or two) is a lack of sufficient charging infrastructure. Recently, truck manufacturers including Volvo and Daimler (big EV fans both) asked the EPA for a three-year delay of the… Read more »
Who says heavy-duty EVs won’t work? 170-tonne, 620 kWh battery-electric truck hits the road in Australia
The next time some troll insists that EVs are only suitable for small vehicles, you might send ‘em a picture of this behemoth. Janus Electric, a startup based in New South Wales, Australia, has partnered with mining giant OZ Minerals and logistics provider Qube to trial an electric triple road train. The converted Volvo FH16… Read more »
US fleet operators call on states to adopt ACT and ACC rules to accelerate the shift to EVs
Will the US commercial fleet industry embrace the benefits of electrification, or will it be dragged kicking and screaming into the EV era? Recently we’ve seen some encouraging signs that the staunch opposition that some EV advocates fear is not materializing. A coalition of commercial fleet operators has sent an open letter to the governors… Read more »
Updated Chevrolet Bolt EV coming, using newer Ultium cells
The other shoe has dropped on GM’s decision to take its only volume EV model out of production: a revised Bolt using the new Ultium battery is coming. General Motors CEO Mary Barra said this morning an updated Chevrolet Bolt EV will come to market “on an accelerated timeline,” with new Ultium battery cells replacing… Read more »
US truck-makers pledge to comply with California’s phase-out of ICE vehicles
Some of the nation’s largest truck-makers, including Cummins, Daimler, Ford, GM, Hino, Isuzu, Navistar, Paccar, Stellantis and Volvo, along with the Truck and Engine Manufacturing Association, have pledged to comply with California’s Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF) rule, which will require all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold or registered in the state to be zero-emission… Read more »
Europe’s second-largest truck maker says hydrogen will not be a major powertrain choice for road freight
The prospect that hydrogen fuel cells will play a significant role in road transportation dims with every advance in battery tech and charging tech that’s announced. The latest blow for hydrogen fans came from Europe’s second-largest truck maker, MAN. In an interview with Austrian newspaper Der Standard (via Hydrogen Insight), MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp predicted… Read more »