Public officials, industry pledge to fast-track no/low-emission trucks and buses

Public officials, government agencies, and companies yesterday signed on to a new program to accelerate deployment of zero and near-zero emission commercial vehicles and technologies.

The pledge focuses on eight global markets for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, seeking to achieve commercial success in each of them by 2025 and have zero-emission technology account for the bulk of new sales of these vehicles by 2040. Companies that have signed on include truck manufacturers, utilities, multinational technology developers, and others.

The Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero pledge is led by CALSTART, a nonprofit industry organization seeking to reduce emissions from trucks and buses in high-potential markets. The transition to these clean technologies, supporters say, would have significant benefits in lessening the impact of climate change, improving air quality, and promoting public health.

"By showing the demand for these vehicles and focusing on the most viable markets, we can accelerate their adoption, improve air quality, and reduce emissions," said John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART.

If medium- and heavy-duty vehicles can achieve commercial viability in these markets, he added, "we can work to reach economies of scale, bring costs down, and increase adoption throughout the entire medium- and heavy-duty vehicle industry."

"Our climate ambition is to reduce emissions with 95% by 2030," noted Oslo, Norway Governing Mayor Raymond Johansen. "By working globally to achieve zero-emission dominance in commercial vehicle sales, we can achieve what would not be possible by working in isolation. I am pleased to announce that Oslo joins that pledge."

The California Air Resources Board has adopted the pledge's targeted application approach to advance these technologies in California. The pledge applies this strategy on a global scale, targeting transit buses, shuttle buses, package and delivery trucks, urban box trucks, yard tractors, port-handling equipment, and regional Class 7/8 drayage trucks.

In addition to its thousands of fleet vehicles now using alternative fuels, New York City operates more 1,700 plug-in on-road vehicles "and is looking forward to expanding hybrid and electric operations in heavy- and medium-duty trucking," said NYC Dept. of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) Deputy Commissioner and Chief Fleet Officer Keith Kerman.

The city has also signed on to the pledge and "stands ready to work with public and private fleet partners to advance and expedite this transformation and thanks CALSTART for convening this effort," he added.

Signers and supporters of the pledge include:

Government

City of New York
New York State Energy Research & Development Authority
California Air Resources Board
South Coast Air Quality Management District
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
Los Angeles Dept. of Transportation
Foothill Transit (Greater Los Angeles public transit agency) 

Elected Officials

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg
Stockton, CA Mayor Michael D. Tubbs
Oslo, Norway Governing Mayor Raymond Johansen

Industry

Siemens
BYD
Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks
New Flyer Industries
Proterra
Southern California Edison
Ballard Power Systems
Ryder System
Chanje Energy
Axle Tech
Effenco
Workhorse Group
Orange EV
Mayor USA
Motiv Power Systems
Transpower
US Hybrid
Lightning Systems
Auto Research Institute
Viatec
XL Fleet
West Valley Construction
Zenith Motors
Unique Electrical Solutions