Orange EV releases third-generation zero-emission yard tractor

Zero-emissions terminal truck manufacturer Orange EV unveiled its newly rebranded e-Triever tractor, which offers an advanced digital cab and can be integrated into geofenced autonomous control systems.

The third generation of the battery-electric terminal tractor builds upon the T-Series truck first deployed in 2015. Since becoming the first OEM with a fully electric, commercially deployed Class 8 tractor, Orange EV’s 400 trucks in use across North America have logged 5 million miles and 1.5 million hours of use.

“More and more people are realizing that electric yard trucks are out there—and they’re proven,” Zack Ruderman, Orange EV's VP of sales and marketing, told FleetOwner. “When you used these in 24/7 operations, the only downtime is the driver break time, which is great for opportunity charging.”

He explained that charging the tractors during driver breaks is enough to keep the trucks powered through the day. That also means the vehicles don’t need to go off-site for diesel fueling. And with fewer moving parts and no diesel system, the vehicles require less maintenance. “For diesel yard trucks, we hear that uptime is often in the 70% to 80% range with the emissions-control technology and other challenges that diesels have. So EV yard trucks offer a dramatic improvement.”

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More than 130 fleets in the U.S. and Canada have Orange EV electric trucks, according to Ruderman. Orange EV reports more than 98% average uptime and a lower total cost of ownership among its fleet customers. The previous Orange EV models have a 10-year expected life and ROI within four years.