Category: TRANSPORTATION_TRUCKS_MN

Trucks in the United States produce 25 percent of transportation greenhouse gas emissions even though they only make up 10 percent of vehicles on the road. And the problem is growing — emissions from trucks have nearly doubled in the past 30 years and are slated to increase faster as e-commerce booms.
Fortunately, development in EV technology has led to breakthroughs in electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Today, although supply is still relatively low, there are dozens of battery-electric truck models available in the United States and Canada alone, and that number is increasing rapidly to meet demand. Across the United States, fleets have already committed to deploying over 140,000 electric vehicles.

Nearly 20 states and jurisdictions have signed on to an action plan striving for 100% electric medium and heavy-duty vehicle sales by 2050.
The plan, released Wednesday, includes policy recommendations for local lawmakers to consider when crafting legislation aimed at boosting adoption of electric trucks and buses. A coalition of 17 states plus Washington, D.C., and the Canadian province of Quebec helped develop the plan, facilitated by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management.

Nearly three years ago, Amazon announced that it would buy 100,000 custom-made delivery vehicles from Rivian, a fledgling maker of electric vehicles. On Thursday, after some delays, the companies said hundreds of the vans were finally on the road.

The US Postal Service pledged Wednesday to electrify at least 40 percent of its new delivery fleet, an increase that climate activists hailed as a major step toward reducing the government’s environmental footprint.The Postal Service had been set to purchase as many as 165,000 vehicles from Oshkosh Defense, of which 10 percent would be electric under the original procurement plan. Now it will acquire 50,000 trucks from Oshkosh, half of which will be EVs, plus another 34,500 commercially available vehicles, 40 percent of which will be electric.

Walmart has a definitive agreement to buy 4,500 electric delivery vehicles from Canoo, the two companies announced Tuesday morning.The EV maker revealed last year it was relocating its headquarters to Bentonville.
Why it matters: Farmers, contractors and delivery companies — not individual consumers — will lead America into the electric vehicle era, Axios’ Joann Muller wrote earlier this year.

Ford Motor Co. sales jumped 31.5% in June thanks to big gains from its top-selling pickup-truck line, including the electric F-150 Lightning. Deliveries of F-Series trucks rose 26.3% from a year ago, Ford said in a statement. The automaker’s gains were in stark contrast to an industrywide slump in June.

Autonomy startup SafeAI is partnering with German industrial titan Siemens to create electric, autonomous heavy trucks for Japanese construction giant Obayashi, Axios is first to report.
Why it matters: Construction and mining companies are under pressure to reduce their carbon footprint, improve safety and lower costs.

Many people think that electric trucks can’t do the job — they won’t have a long enough driving range, they will be too heavy, truckers won’t like them. However, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. “The framing of the problem is wrong,” says RMI Principal Dave Mullaney. While it’s true that there are certain things electric trucks can’t do, “not every truck has to be able to do every thing. Different trucks operate differently and there is opportunity in that diversity. While electric trucks might not yet be able to perform in all circumstances, they could effectively replace up to half of trucks on the road today.” he adds.

General Motors made a splash last year when it announced a bold plan to ramp up sales of electric vehicles and said it would stop making gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035.

State attorneys general and top environmental groups have already sued the Postal Service to block the $11.3 billion truck contract.