By Jason Mathers and Ellen Bell
Truck fleets across the country are enthusiastically embracing the emergence of electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. This is the main finding of a new EDF analysis of public announcements and known deployments of leading fleets. EDF found nearly 500 existing electric deployments and pledges to deploy nearly 300 times more vehicles as additional models become available.
The analysis, which will be updated periodically to reflect new announcements and pledges, is available via a sortable Google Sheet.
Some notable deployments include:
- The Anchorage Department of Solid Waste Services — which recently took custody of a Peterbilt Model 220EV.
- J&M Sanitation — which is running two BYD 8R sanitation trucks in Kuna, Idaho.
- Ruan — which is running a terminal tractor in Otsego, MN.
- Aramark, which is operating 31 electric walk-in vans powered by Motiv.
- Dependable Highway Express, which is running two Volvo VNR trucks and has ordered another 10 to operate in Ontario, CA.
EDF analysis finds American fleets are embracing electric trucks
Many fleets are demonstrating their strong interest in zero-emission transportation with large procurement commitments. These include:
- Amazon —which has ordered more than 100,000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian.
- FedEx — which has reserved 500 BrightDrop cargo vans. Fleet interest in these vehicles has been high, as evidenced by GM’s accelerated production timeline for these vehicles and fleet management company Merchant Fleet ordering 12,600 vans in anticipation of fleet interest.
- New Legend Inc. — a western regional freight hauler, which has ordered 50 Freightliner eCascadias.
- ConEd — which will be running a Lion Electric bucket truck in New York City in 2022.
- UPS — which is converting up to 1,500 delivery trucks in New York to electric and is buying 1,000 electric vans from Workhorse.
- PepsiCo — which is operating 6 Peterbilt 220 EVs, has ordered 100 electric semi trucks from Tesla, 15 of which are expected to be delivered in 2021.
- Quality Custom Distribution — a national foodservice logistics supplier, has ordered 14 Volvo electric VNR freight trucks.
Companies are also signaling their future direction through corporate sustainability strategies and commitments. As part of its analysis, EDF examined the fleet commitments of companies with the largest fleets and found that 17 have committed to transition all or significant parts of their fleet to electric vehicles. An additional 14 companies have set targets to cut emissions at least 50% by 2035.
Key examples include:
- Walmart is targeting zero global operational emissions by 2040. This includes electrifying its vehicles (including long-haul trucks) by 2040.
- FedEx has pledged a 100% electric pick-up and delivery fleet and carbon-neutral operations by 2040.
- PepsiCo plans to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions across its direct operations (Scope 1 and 2) by 75% and its indirect value chain (Scope 3) by 40% by 2030. In addition, the company has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Interest in electric trucks has become a mainstream focus within the trucking industry. Leading fleets recognize that zero-emission vehicles, particularly electric vehicles, are increasingly able to perform the jobs needed and are likely to offer lower total costs within a few years. These companies and their direct customers — major brands that depend on trucks to get goods to market — should understand, that electric trucks can also help reduce the pollution from warehouses and other large freight facilities.
Now is the time to build on this excitement with firm targets for transitioning to electric trucks and bold policies that help fleets accelerate deployments today while making clear that the future of industry must be zero-emission.
Press Courtesy of Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org)