Re:I saw a cool truck today
by jillesvangurp on Monday May 09, 2022 @03:53AM
(#31311644)
Battery electric trucks exist in pretty much any weight class you can think off. This stopped being a theoretical thing about a decade ago. The main issue is cost and even that is starting to look really good. For last mile deliveries in cities it's pretty much game over for ICE vehicles. Electrical vans are selling as fast as they can be produced. They are cheaper to operate, cleaner to drive, more comfortable (no vibrations, quiet), etc. and they get the job done.
Range is fine too. 300-500 miles is plenty for a long distance truck doing 50-60 miles per hour. There are several manufacturers selling battery electrical class 8 trucks now. It will take a while for those to get common of course and for charging infrastructure to ramp up (these things need some serious amounts of juice). They have their required 45 minute break every few hours in any case. Great opportunity to charge the vehicle.
Range anxiety for commercial vehicles is not a thing. You might have personal anxiety but it's an entirely predictable thing that you can plan and budget for from a business point of view. It either is good/affordable enough and adequate or it is not.
In fact, it seems the low range delivery vans are popular because they are more cost effective and more efficient (less unneeded dead battery weight). Why spend the extra money on range you don't need? It seems the sweet spot is around 100 miles range. Some vans do even less than that. But it's more than the average delivery van does in a day apparently. Longer range options are available. Anxiety does not factor into this. It's a simple matter of "do we spend the 10-20k extra and is it worth it?"
Range is fine too. 300-500 miles is plenty for a long distance truck doing 50-60 miles per hour. There are several manufacturers selling battery electrical class 8 trucks now. It will take a while for those to get common of course and for charging infrastructure to ramp up (these things need some serious amounts of juice). They have their required 45 minute break every few hours in any case. Great opportunity to charge the vehicle.
Range anxiety for commercial vehicles is not a thing. You might have personal anxiety but it's an entirely predictable thing that you can plan and budget for from a business point of view. It either is good/affordable enough and adequate or it is not.
In fact, it seems the low range delivery vans are popular because they are more cost effective and more efficient (less unneeded dead battery weight). Why spend the extra money on range you don't need? It seems the sweet spot is around 100 miles range. Some vans do even less than that. But it's more than the average delivery van does in a day apparently. Longer range options are available. Anxiety does not factor into this. It's a simple matter of "do we spend the 10-20k extra and is it worth it?"