Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” In checking into this, I found that the actual quote is, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” It was written in response to rumors that Twain was either dead or dying. He set the record straight.
And whether you use the exact quote or the one that has become popular, the sentiment is the same—Twain was not dead. And neither are battery-electric trucks.
I know that several makers of battery-electric vehicles have recently exited the market, and some people have taken that to mean that BEVs are dead. In my opinion, those people are wrong because there were many battery-electric vehicles on the floor at the Work Truck Show I recently attended in Indianapolis.
The show's focus is not on long-haul trucking, so the electric trucks featured on the exhibit floor were vans, step vans, and medium-duty box trucks.
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As we demonstrated in Run on Less – Electric, there is a clear case for switching diesel-powered vehicles for battery electric in those applications.
DHL, Purolator, and Servall Electric had vans and step vans in the Run. Battery-electric vehicles are a good fit for van and step van applications because they can be charged at the depot, at home, or at public charging locations and typically can be charged with Level 2 chargers.
Day & Ross, Frito-Lay, and Roush Fenway Racing had medium-duty box trucks in the Run. One of the things we said following that Run was that we expected there to be a consolidation of truck manufacturers. The Run showed the industry that medium-duty box trucks are a great application for electric trucks given their short distances and return-to-base operations.
I think the performance of the vans and steps and medium-duty box trucks in Run on Less – Electric coupled with the number of these vehicles that were on the show floor at the Work Truck Show is sufficient proof that reports of the death of BEVs, particularly in lower weight classes, has been greatly exaggerated.
While I expect we may see some manufacturers exit the market, the ones that remain will continue to improve their vehicle offerings, and fleets will continue to invest in them.
