Will Trucks And Buses Beat Cars In The Electric Race?

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1,905 views Dec 31, 2010

Navistar eStar electric delivery truck in Washington, D.C.

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Right now, six companies are vying to win a contract that would provide 100 electric vehicles to the government’s General Administration services 214,000-strong  fleet.

One of them is Ford; the other, a relative newcomer called Smith Electric. But the government isn’t looking for electric sedans to chauffeur VIPs or parade around at White House events — rather, it wants electric versions of the humble, plain old delivery truck.

With all the electric cars poised for release in the coming months, it’s easy to think of 2011 as the year these cars hit the road en masse. But in fact, there’s already electric vehicles trucking about – electric trucks to be exact, and they’ve already been put to use by companies like Coca-Cola and FedEx.

Commercial vehicles like delivery trucks, buses and vans are a good target for cutting fuel costs and are already making a dent in President Obama’s goal of 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015. Precise numbers are hard to pin down, but they use a “tremendous” amount of fuel in the U.S., said David Hurst, analyst at Pike Research. For corporations, that fuel expense is a bottom-line cost they’d like to control like any other. And there are other inherent characteristics of the market that grease the wheels for quicker adoption.

Frito-Lay electric delivery truck in New York City

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Right now, most electric cars have about a 100-mile range, worrisome for the average American who has a 30-minute commute and wants to run a few errands on his way home. But the beauty of electrifying a delivery truck is that there’s a set route, and trucks will almost always charge at home base — unlike with consumer cars, where startups and utilities are scrambling to build out charging stations along freeways and in parking lots.

“The performance, infrastructure and availability issues that plague electric car and light-truck models don’t cross over to their commercial counterparts,” said Bryan Hansel, CEO of Smith Electric, which makes all-electric commercial vehicles like trucks. He estimated that most urban-based commercial trucks have a daily route of 30 miles or less.

Smith is delivering 176 battery-powered delivery trucks to Frito-Lay, and the snacking giant estimates it will save half a million gallons of gasoline a year by electrifying its massive North American fleet. But like the commercial electric vehicle market, there’s a backlog for electric trucks too. Hansel says its trucks are back-ordered until the second quarter of next year.

2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric, introduced at 2010 Chicago Auto Show

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Still, interested buyers of electric trucks have the same qualms as those looking to buy a Nissan Leaf or Chevy Volt. Prospective customers always ask about range and battery life, says Mark Aubry, Navistar’s head of sales for the company’s eStar electric truck. Navistar has pledged to deliver 400 electric trucks this year.

Delivery trucks are ideal. The cars have one point of origin, with “city-style routes, lots of starts and stops, and [they] don’t use the freeway.

“That’s really the best possible customer that’s out there,” Aubry said. Navistar recently delivered four electric trucks to FedEx. And last month UPS ordered 130 hybrid delivery trucks produced by Eaton, adding to its fleet of 250 hybrids and estimating the purchase will save 66,000 gallons of gas a year.

As in the consumer market, demand will likely outpace supply in electric trucks for some time to come. While businesses can make a sustainability statement with the trucks, Pike analyst Hurst says that right now, it takes a few years for a buyer to see a cost benefit.