Big Rigs Going Electric As Navistar, Cummins, Daimler Rev Up Next-Generation Trucks

The electric vehicle revolution is much larger than the electric pickup from Ford and the other electric vehicles on the market.

The Long Beach Convention Center was packed this week for the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) expo, which showcased the largest cargo container terminals in the world. Increasing battery and hydrogen technology, along with new federal support for clean vehicles, make them much more compelling, and surging oil prices make them even more compelling.

The point of cost parity for electric trucks is sooner than many think, according to the president and CEO of Navistar.

Carlbaum says that the company is working on more advanced electric trucks with a range of over 500 miles per charge with 1 megawatt-hour battery packs. It's more optimistic than competitors that battery power is the best option for most heavy-duty vehicle applications, even though it sees a role for hydrogen fuel cell trucks.

“The point of cost parity (of electric trucks), depending on the application, is much sooner than many think”

50% of our sales will be due to technology improvements flowing from VW's plan to spend $100 billion on battery and electric propulsion R&D.

Daimler Truck, Volvo, Peterbilt, Kenworth, International and Mack are just a few of the top global truck manufacturers and brands. The total cost of ownership, including fuel and maintenance expenses, gives the companies an advantage over diesel, gasoline, and natural-gas fueled trucks, as the purchase price for battery and hydrogen vehicles exceeds that of diesel, gasoline, and natural-gas fueled trucks, potentially by tens of thousands of The switch to electric vehicles looks even more compelling when you consider the generous incentives that California provides.

The advanced truck show did not featureTesla. Musk promised a heavy-hauler that would go 500 miles per charge and hit the market by late 2019. The company hasn't announced a new date for the release of the Semi. Musk said last month that it might go into production in Austin by the year 2023.

His competitors are not waiting. More models of battery-powered semis are coming, and they already sell to U.S. customers. The new electric truck from Daimler's Freightliner brand goes 230 miles per charge, and last month the company began delivering its Tre BEV truck that can go up to 350 miles per charge.

In every sector, fleets are increasingly turning to a spectrum of advanced clean vehicle technologies and low-carbon fuels to improve their fleet bottom line.

Heavy-duty electric truck deployment in the U.S. will go from dozens to hundreds across this year and next with some sectors already seeing early scale according to a survey by GNA. Fleet demand for BEVs is enormous and continues to exceed availability, while vehicle and battery costs remain stubbornly high, and the supply chain is still in development.

Cummins, the largest supplier of diesel engines for heavy-duty vehicles, said this week that it is partnering with Daimler on hydrogen fuel cell systems, an electric propulsion system that several competing companies also see as the best long-term option for big trucks. The Cascadia semis would be modified to use Cummins's engine and could be delivered to customers by 2024. The Port of Oakland will be the location for the testing of the XCIENT fuel cell trucks. The Port of L.A. has a test fleet of hydrogen fuel cell trucks.

Amy Davis, president of Cummins' New Power unit, said in a statement that hydrogen fuel cells are a promising solution for heavy-duty trucking. The partnership with Daimler is an important milestone for both companies as we work to accelerate the shift to a carbon-free economy.

The most dumb thing I could possibly imagine for energy storage is hydrogen, according to Musk in remarks to the Financial Times this week.

Musk's views aren't universally shared by companies that are interested in hydrogen trucks.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles can complement battery-powered electric vehicles in speeding our carbon-neutral journey, according to the vice president and chief of eMobility for Daimler Trucks North America.