The thing about new technology is that there is always a lot of hype surrounding it. Some of the hype overstates the benefits of the new technology, sometimes positioning it as the solution to all problems. And flip the coin over and there is similar hype from those who want to continue to do things the “old way.” That hype tends to understate the value of the new technology and overstate its negative aspects.
NACFE has long positioned itself as an unbiased source of information. If you look at our Confidence Reports, you will see that every one of them contains a section on benefits and also a section on challenges. While one of our goals is to scale the adoption of existing technology, we want to make sure we do that in a responsible way allowing fleets to make spec'ing and purchasing decisions based on all the information about a technology—both good and bad. Just because a technology has some challenges to overcome does not mean that it does not make sense in a given application. Challenges can be overcome.
No area has seen more hype lately than battery electric vehicles in commercial applications. Some folks are touting them as the greatest thing since sliced bread while others say they make no sense at all in trucking. Neither side is right.
On Sept. 2, we kicked off Run on Less—Electric in an attempt to help separate the fact from the fiction. There are now 13 trucks—each of which was checked out by a member of the NACFE team and equipped with a telematics device—operating in a variety of locations across the US and Canada sending data to us. On a daily basis we are sharing individual data on total miles driven, estimated number of deliveries, weather conditions, battery charge and more. We also share accumulated data on miles driven, deliveries made, tons of CO2 saved, and total kWH charged.
Here at NACFE, we are firm believers that electric trucks in commercial applications are the way of the future. However, we don't just want to evangelize about what we think. The purpose of Run on Less—Electric is to steep the conversations about electric trucks in facts and real-world data. The only way electric trucks will actually make sense in trucking is if the data shows that they make sense. No amount of hype—on either side of the argument—is going to persuade a fleet manager to try or avoid electric trucks. But we hope that the data that we are gathering about a variety of types of trucks—including step vans, terminal tractors, medium-duty box trucks and a heavy-duty tractor—will provide a necessary real-world look at just what these EVs can do so fleets can have more confidence when deciding to add an EV or two or more to their fleet.
If you are not already following the Run, I encourage you to do so where you can see what is really going on with EVs and avoid all the hype.
Michael Roeth has worked in the commercial vehicle industry for nearly 30 years, most recently as executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency. He currently serves on the second National Academy of Sciences Committee on Technologies and Approaches for Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium and Heavy-Duty Vehicles and has held various positions in engineering, quality, sales and plant management with Navistar and Behr/Cummins.
