TRUCKS

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CURRENT NEWS

Jun 02 2022

Axios

Self-driving EV heavy trucks are coming to a work site near you

By Joann Muller Photo: SafeAI

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…

May 25 2022

Rmi

Reality Check: Electric Trucks Are Viable Today

By Laurie Stone

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…

May 12 2022

The New York Times

Mary Barra’s ‘Long Game’: Winning the E.V. Race

By Neal E. Boudette Photo: Peter Hoffman , The New York Tomes

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.

May 12 2022

The Washington Post

House panel will investigate USPS plan to purchase 8.6 mpg trucks

By Jacob Bogage Photo: Nati Harnik/AP

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

Apr 28 2022

The Washington Post

16 states, D.C., climate activists sue USPS to block truck purchase

By Jacob Bogage Photo: Mike Blake , Reuters

Sixteen states, the District of Columbia and environmental activist groups are suing the U.S. Postal Service to block its purchase of 148,000 gas-guzzling delivery trucks over the next decade, alleging the agency has vastly underestimated…

Apr 28 2022

The Hill

States, environmental groups sue USPS over gas-powered trucks

By Zack Budryk

Sixteen states and a coalition of environmental groups on Thursday announced a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) for its decision to upgrade the majority of its fleet with fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

Apr 27 2022

The New York Times

Ford lost $3.1 billion in the first quarter.

By Neal E. Boudette Photo: Sylvia Jarrus , The New York Times

Ford Motor said on Wednesday that it lost $3.1 billion in the first three months of the year because of a sharp drop in the stock price of Rivian, an electric vehicle start-up that Ford…

Apr 09 2022

The New York Times

Tesla Will Sell Its Long-Awaited Cybertruck Next Year, Elon Musk Says

By Jack Ewing Photo: Jeenah Moon , Reuters

The truck, with an angular design and a stainless-steel skin that set it apart from traditional pickups, has been delayed after an inauspicious unveiling in 2019, when a designer lobbed a metal ball at a…

Mar 31 2022

UtilityDive

Maersk doubles down on fleet electrification with Volvo EV order

By Alejandra Salgado

A.P. Moller - Maersk said it would order an additional 110 electric trucks from Volvo to support increased demand from customers looking to decarbonize their supply chains, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Mar 17 2022

Canary Media

When will EV trucks be ready for large-scale adoption? It’s complicated

By Jeff St. John

Last week was full of important developments in the ongoing effort to electrify the nation’s full range of trucks. The Environmental Protection Agency published its clean trucks proposal — the first major shift in EPA…

Mar 14 2022

The Climate Reality Project

Why EPA’s new heavy truck rule could yet be a gamechanger

By The Climate Reality Project

EPA’s new proposed rule limiting toxic tailpipe emissions from heavy trucks could not only mean clean air for millions but also jumpstart electrification of the trucking and bus sectors on a massive scale. But only…

Mar 14 2022

The New York Times

Democrats Want Investigation Into Postal Service’s Gas Guzzlers Contract

By Lisa Friedman Photo: Desiree Rios , The New York Times

A group of House Democrats called Monday for an investigation into a decision by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to purchase up to 165,000 gasoline-powered mail trucks over the Biden administration’s objections that the multibillion-dollar contract…

MORE NEWS

The Washington Post

Biden administration moves to cut smog-forming pollution from trucks

By Dino Grandoni Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images 03/07/22

The Environmental Protection Agency proposes curbing nitrogen oxide and carbon pollution amid an online shopping boom, but some environmentalists call for stricter limits

Canary Media

This California startup wants to be the Pony Express of electric trucking

By Jeff St. John 02/10/22

Here’s the pitch: First, build enormous electric truck-charging hubs in three major freight transport centers in Southern California. Procure electric trucks from major manufacturers such as Volvo and Tesla, and establish partnerships with companies that…

Axios

Where to encounter some of the first self-driving vehicles

By Joann Muller Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios 02/03/22

More driverless trucks and taxis are going to be on the roads in the near future — if you know where to look. (Primarily San Francisco and Phoenix.) Why it matters: Years of simulations and…

AP News

EPA: New mail-delivery fleet needs more electric vehicles

By Matthew Daly Photo: Charles Krupa, File 02/03/22

A U.S. Postal Service plan to replace its huge fleet of mail-delivery trucks has too few electric vehicles and falls short of President Joe Biden’s goals to address climate change, the Environmental Protection Agency said…

The Hill

EPA presses USPS to halt purchase of up to 165K gas-powered vehicles

By Zack Budryk Photo: Greg Nash 02/02/22

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on Wednesday asked the U.S. Postal Service to reconsider plans to purchase a predominantly gas-powered fleet of up to 165,000 trucks.

Fast Company

These EVs are cheaper to own than their gas-powered counterparts

By Adele Peters Photos: Ford, pagadesign/Getty Images 02/01/22

Ford’s new F-150 Lightning—the electric pickup that can double as backup power for your house in a blackout—is 17% more affordable to own than the gas-powered version of the vehicle. That’s according to a new…

The New Yorker

America’s Favorite Pickup Truck Goes Electric

By John Seabrook Photo: Daniel Shepard 01/24/22

When I was twelve, in 1971, the walls of my bedroom in southern New Jersey were covered with full-page photographs of rail dragsters and “funny cars” with swollen engines which I carefully razor-bladed from hot-rod…

Carbon Brief

Coal and trucks pushed US ‘further off track’ for climate targets in 2021

By Josh Gabbatiss 01/10/22

US emissions surged by 6.2% last year, boosted by a renewed reliance on coal power amid soaring natural gas prices, according to the Rhodium Group. After falling sharply in 2020 due to the economic impact…

Bloomberg Green

How Six States Could Transform the U.S. Trucking Industry

By Laura Bliss Photo: Bing Guan/Bloomberg 01/06/22

California, Oregon, Washington, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts are requiring a growing percentage of all medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold to be zero-emission starting in 2025.

Axios

1 big thing: Why electric pickups are so hot

By Ben German and Andrew Freedman Photo: Sarah Grillo , Axios 01/05/22

Ford's stock jumped 12% Tuesday after it revealed plans to boost production of the electric F-150 pickup, and today rival General Motors will unveil the electric version of the Chevy Silverado pickup, Ben writes.

Environment+Energy Leader

Europe’s Largest Logistics Company Taps Volvo For 25 More Electric Trucks

By Austin Tannenbaum 12/23/21

It was announced Wednesday that DFDS, Europe’s largest shipping and logistics company, placed an order for an additional 25 heavy electric trucks from Volvo Trucks: AB Volvo’s Sweden-based truck manufacturing arm. This order extends DFDS’s…

The New York Times

Rivian’s Electric Truck Is a Cutie and a Beast

By Lawrence Ulrich Photo: Bryan Derballa for The New York Times 11/25/21

The redoubtable Rivian R1T, the first crusher in a coming wave of electric pickup trucks, can soar unscathed over gnarly boulders, hitch an 11,000-pound load and scorch 60 m.p.h. in about 3.5 seconds. The truck…

Ford.com

ALL ELECTRIC. ALL F-150.

11/24/21

Be prepared for what nature throws at you with the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning. Available Ford Intelligent Backup Power, enabled by the 80-amp Ford Charge Station Pro, allows you to use your truck as a…

DOE

DOE Announces Nearly $200 Million to Reduce Emissions From Cars and Trucks

11/01/21

Vice President Kamala Harris will join U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm in New York today to announce the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded $199 million to fund 25 projects aimed at putting…

E&E NEWS

Climate change fuels drive toward cleaner tractors

By Marc Heller Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images 10/20/21

Making tractors burn with less pollution has long posed a trade-off: cleaner air, but less power to drag heavy equipment. Now manufacturers say they’re making strides to help close the gap. The latest entrant is…

Bloomberg Green

Using the World’s First Green Steel to Make a Dump Truck

By Lars Paulsson Photo: Jan Lindblad , AB 10/18/21

The world’s steelmakers need a makeover. Their industry is one of the dirtiest, and it’s blamed for about 7% of global carbon emissions. The biggest producers essentially rely on the same manufacturing processes they used…

Utilitydive

New Jersey’s EV charging proposal for trucks could be a national model, with a few changes

By Pete Silva 10/04/21

Since I retired from corporate fleet leadership a few years ago, I have been working with NGOs like Environmental Defense Fund, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency and CALSTART to advance the electrification of…

TreeHugger

Ford Leads the Race to Put America in Electric Pickups

By Jim Motavalli 10/04/21

Want an electric pickup? Well, you can’t have one—right now. Despite the American love affair with trucks, automakers have been in the slow lane getting batteries into a pickup—but that’s changing rapidly. There are at…

Medium

How a Startup Beat Ford, GM, and Tesla to Market

By Brayden Gerrard Photo: Richard Truesdell 09/30/21

For the past 80 years, the automotive industry has been difficult to break into. Incumbents reigned supreme, and startups — much less successful ones — were few and far between. When electric vehicles were still…

Canary Media

Newsletter: Electric trucking is coming sooner than you think

By Julian Spector 09/27/21

I’ve lost track of the number of times clean energy has been accused of being incapable of performing a certain task, but then does it anyway. Conventional wisdom holds that battery-powered vehicles could work for…

Utility Dive

Money and range: Experts note roadblocks to EV adoption

By Jim Stinson 09/15/21

Electric batteries for Class 8 trucks are expensive. Plus, they only allow shorter ranges, at least for now. For major fleets that make short runs, that is just fine.

Utilitydive

Schneider taps California electric transportation incentives to add 50 trucks

By S.L. Fuller 09/06/21

Schneider plans to add 50 Freightliner eCascadias to its intermodal operations in Southern California, the fleet announced last week. The trucks are part of the carrier's sustainability plan, which puts a focus on utilzing multiple modes of…

Los Angeles Times

They fought for clean air. They didn’t know they were part of a gas industry campaign

By Miranda Green and Sammy Roth Photo: Carolyn Cole , Los Angeles Times 08/31/21

Diesel truck pollution from the busiest port complex in the United States has fouled the air in nearby neighborhoods in Southern California for decades. So when port officials asked for feedback on cleaning up that…

Treehugger

Solar-Powered Refrigerated Trailers Could Eliminate Millions of Tons of CO2 Emissions

By Lloyd Alter 08/02/21

Reefers, or refrigerated trailers, are cooled by diesel fuel, with electricity from either the tractor's generator or an Auxilary Power Unit (APU) mounted on the trailer. An idling diesel tractor burns a gallon of fuel…

Utilitydive

Tesla further delays Semi production amid component shortages

By S.L. Fuller 07/28/21

Tesla is pushing back the timeline for production of its battery-electric Semi, according to Tesla's earnings presentation. The vehicle's program is now planned to launch in 2022.

Politico

California truck rules facing a test — in New Jersey

By Ry Rivard Photo: Carolyn Kaster , AP 07/18/21

The first big test of California’s plan to reshape the U.S. truck market is underway on the other side of the country, with New Jersey officials pushing tough new mandates to cut emissions by getting…

Triplepundit

The Many Benefits of an All-Electric Fire Truck

By Tina Casey Photo: Connor Betts 07/07/21

If there are any lingering doubts left regarding the reliability of electric vehicles (EVs), a new electric fire truck from the firm Rosenbauer should lay them to rest once and for all. After all, breakdowns…

Utility Dive

‘Electric is not easy’: LA, NYC look to build capacity for more battery EVs in refuse fleets

By Maria Rachal Photo: Maria Rachal, Utility Dive 07/06/21

WasteExpo events the past few years, both in person and virtual, have featured introductory sessions on battery electric trucks. This year, there were numerous models on display and one available for test drive outside. Leaders…

Energy Institute at Haas

Electrifying Big Rigs?

By Maximilian Auffhammer 06/28/21

While much of the debate around cleaning up the transportation sector has focused on the types of cars you and I drive, one of the big sources of local and global air pollution is the…

The Environmental Mgazine

Trucking Goes Electric: Accelerating Toward A Greener Future

By Emily Folk 06/25/21

The idea of an electric car isn’t a new one. Some of the first vehicles ever invented were powered by electricity rather than internal combustion engines. While they didn’t take off as quickly, the idea…

Axios

Why electrifying the light truck market could be tough

By Ben Geman Photo: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios 06/22/21

New research suggests a problem for policymakers hoping to rapidly move U.S. road transport from gasoline to electricity: drivers of huge-selling pickups and SUVs may be a tough sell.

producebluebook.com

Albertsons takes delivery of Volvo zero-emission refrigerated trucks

06/01/21

Albertsons Companies, BB #:193326 the second-largest grocery chain in the U.S., recently took delivery of two Volvo VNR Electric trucks at its distribution center in Irvine, California.

Triple Pundit

Clean Fleets Make Dollars and Sense, So Why Doesn’t USPS Clean Up?

By Tina Casey 06/01/21

A new report makes a strong bottom-line case for fleet managers to adopt new clean transportation technologies that are mature, available, and appropriate. Policy makers will have the final say on clean fleets, but the…

The New York Times

Ford’s Electric F-150 Pickup Aims to Be the Model T of E.V.s

By Neil E. Boudette 05/28/21

In a splashy presentation Wednesday night in Dearborn, Mich., the automaker unveiled an electric version of its popular F-150 pickup truck called the Lightning. Ford’s F-Series trucks, including the F-150, make up the top-selling vehicle…

climatecrocks.com

Spotted: Amazon Testing Electric Delivery Van

By Peter Sinclair 05/27/21

Rivian Amazon Delivery Truck Spotted

The New York Times

World’s Largest Long-Haul Truckmaker Sees Hydrogen-Fueled Future

By Jack Ewing 05/23/21

Carmakers have been promising to scrap the internal combustion engine, and now it’s the truckmakers’ turn. But the makers of giant 18-wheelers are taking a different route.

CNET

USPS mail trucks to get more EV funding from Congress

By Sean Szymkowski 05/14/21

Following snags in the new USPS mail truck contract, which awards Wisconsin-based Oshkosh the production of up to 165,000 new vehicles, the postal service is in for more funding to make good on an EV…

Utility Dive

As EV economics improve, medium- and heavy-duty trucking may be ‘next big frontier’ for clean transportation

By Robert Walton 03/25/21

Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and in most states has been steadily growing, according to Helfrich. Heavy-duty trucking represents a disproportionate amount of those emissions, she said.

Treehugger

Canoo Introduces a Cute Little Electric Pickup Truck

By Lloyd Alter 03/17/21

When the first Canoo electric vehicle was launched, CEO Ulrich Kranz noted that "with electric power trains, there’s actually no need that a car looks like a traditional combustion engine car." Since then, GM and…

The Wall Street Journal

Tesla Says Battery-Cell Squeeze Strains Semi Truck Production

By Jennifer Smith and Paul Page Photo by Veronique Dupont 01/28/21

Tesla Inc. says its production plan for its new electric Semi heavy-duty truck remains in a low gear because the special battery cells the big rig needs are in short supply. The Silicon Valley car…

utilitydive

15 states, DC will collaborate on 100% electric truck sales by 2050

By S.L. Fuller 07/18/20

Governors from 15 states and the mayor of Washington, D.C., signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to ensure 100% of medium- and heavy-duty sales are zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2050, according to a Northeast States…

Forbes

Spending $500B On Electric Trucks Could Make Economic Sense, But Only With A Carbon Tax

By Ed Hirs 07/17/20

Transitioning to a low carbon economy is in progress. It is not political. According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a majority of Americans of both parties are in favor.

Nexus Media

California Regulators Adopt Landmark Zero-emissions Trucks Rule

By Nexus Media News 06/26/20

California regulators approved a landmark rule requiring automakers to sell electric trucks in the state. The rule will require at least 40% of all tractor trailers, and 75% of delivery trucks and vans, sold in…

utility dive

Electric trucks are the ‘inevitable future,’ fleets say

By Jim Stinson 05/19/20

But will the coronavirus crisis — and the resulting plunge in diesel prices — cause fleets to suspend their plans? Right now, some fleets are starved for freight business. Investment in electric trucks, with the…

CSR Wire

UPS Invests in Arrival, Accelerates Fleet Electrification With Order of 10,000 Electric Delivery Vehicles

01/30/20

UPS today said its venture capital arm, UPS Ventures, has completed a minority investment in Arrival, which makes electric vehicle (EV) platforms and purpose-built vehicles that offer a highly competitive value proposition when compared with…

WasteDive

Los Angeles commits to 100% electric sanitation fleet by 2035. Other cities aren’t ready to follow

By E.A. Crunden Photo: LA Sanitation 01/29/20

LASAN Director Enrique Zaldivar pledged to procure only electric vehicles in two years and gradually convert the fleet. While the market continues to evolve, adoption is far from widespread.