The Future of Electric Fleets

“I can keep up with traffic flow," reported a driver of an electric truck during a Daimler Chrysler North America (DCNA) trial study. Michael Scheib, Head of e-Mobility at DCNA spoke with Alex Chrissy, host of the “Fleet Future" podcast, about the rigorous testing of e-trucks in preparation for their launch of the "eCascadia" and "eM2" models later this year.

“In regular, heavy traffic an electric truck makes it through faster," Sheib told Chrissy. Diesel or gasoline trucks usually have standard transmissions, meaning there's always a pause between acceleration and movement allowing other vehicles to move ahead. With e-trucks, acceleration and drive are more immediate saving up to thirty minutes per route.

In six to eight months, DCNA simulated the entire life span of an electric truck in order to design the best possible models for logistics clients. During their trial, DCNA found that specific types of routes will benefit the most from e-trucks. “Those with a lot of starts and stops within 100-miles... those that go from store to store... are definitely the perfect routes because [drivers] can recoup a lot of battery energy," Schieb reported.

Mike Roeth of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) agreed, explaining to Chrissy in a separate episode of Fleet Future, “a Pepsi truck [for example], spends a considerable amount of time at the store restocking, they don't [drive] the same amount of miles as long-haul trucks." The average truck drives approximately 400 miles per day. With an e-truck, the mileage is reduced to 100 or 200 miles due to battery restrictions, making urban routes and last-mile delivery ideal.

“Those that are for hire around the country... well, there's just no charging stations now. How do you know where to charge when you don't know where you'll be in the next days or weeks...? We need a pretty big range in electric trucks to make them work."

What fleet managers and drivers call “diminishing loads" or “milk runs", where the truck leaves the base and goes to multiple locations, offer the best opportunities for cost and time savings via electrification because they're good candidates for “opportunity charging": plugging in the battery during unloading and loading, or when the driver takes a coffee break.

While industry professionals like Schieb and Roeth are working to create the best possible conditions for transportation and logistics brands to pivot to electric vehicles, International Trucks are working as consultants, answering questions about compatibility, efficiency and timing in relation to electrification.

Read the article