Bergey’s Truck Centers Acquires Cumberland Truck
Bergey’s Truck Centers Acquires Cumberland Truck
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While that doesn’t seem all that long ago, the EV has come a long way in the last 4-5 years, with many improvements in product configurations, batteries, mileage range, charging capacity and other technology features and customizations. If you are a fleet manager or your business runs trucks, you can’t help but hear about commercial electric trucks, and as you hear more about this “new” technology, you may begin to wonder – is EV right for my fleet?
Maybe you are looking to cut CO2 emissions. Maybe you want to improve operations for stop-n-go or regional out-and-back routes. Today you have many choices that can help you meet your goals, with a range of different EVs that can cover everything from city deliveries to regional hauls with the tonnage you need.
Benefits of EV
Commercial electric trucks reduce noise and pollution, relative to internal-combustion trucks. Due to the high efficiency of electric power trains, the costs of operating electric trucks is dramatically lower. There is no fuel burning while idle, they offer efficient acceleration, and are quieter than traditional diesel-powered engines which can allow for operating at times when diesel engines cannot.
According to the United States Department of Energy, the average cost per kWh capacity of battery packs for trucks fell from $500 in 2013 to $200 in 2019, and still further to $137 in 2020, with some vehicles under $100. One U.S. gallon of fuel is equivalent to 33.7 kWh, according to the US Department of Energy, so do the math and you’ll see the value.
Concerns about long charging periods? Those have improved dramatically as well. AC chargers take about 9 hours, but with many typical DC chargers offering fast-charge options, you can get to full charge in about 2 hours.
This EV technology is not for all applications and can come with a fairly significant up-front cost over that of a traditional diesel combustion engines. But once you get past the initial outlay of cash, the over-all lower cost of operation could make it a non-issue. EVs also have higher torque and heavy battery loads which will require fleets to evaluate and select the proper tires and tire maintenance to maintain safety levels.
Recent studies have shown that EVs can get up to 124 miles at full load and 167 miles at half load, while still having nearly 40% battery life left. Mileage averages around 186, but some configurations can have a max up to 275 miles. Not too shabby if your fleet fits in this shorter regional route type mileage range and makes many stops during its day.
It is estimated that commercial truck manufacturing could be turning to nearly 50% of production dedicated to EV as early as 2030. Be ready. Change is coming.
Speak with your Bergey’s Truck Center EV expert – we have experience spec’ing EVs, with many on order. We are excited to be delivering our first few trucks by April 2022.
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