Electric trucks would seem to have unstoppable market momentum, given the widespread news of on-going carrier and shipper adoption.
Think again.
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“As trucks get heavier the cost difference becomes more pronounced, with annual costs of operating battery-electric big rigs about twice as expensive as diesel trucks,” the Journal reports |
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Despite the pressure for companies to reduce CO2 emissions, barriers remain high.
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, now that battery-electric (BEV) trucks are becoming readily available “few customers want to pay for them.”
The Journal quotes Robert Sanchez, CEO of 3PL Ryder, which manages 250,000 trucks and vans for all kinds of companies, as saying “The [BEV] economics just don’t work for most companies.”
So the drive to an electric truck future may take quite a bit longer, and “truck makers will need to make significant advances in battery weight, range and charging times if battery-electric trucks are to seriously challenge diesel rigs in a highly competitive freight sector that runs on thin margins,” the Journal reports.
According to Daimler Truck North America, owner of the Freightliner truck brand, sales of BEVs were flat from 2022 to 2023 even with the pressure from governments, regulators and companies themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
But perhaps that is not surprising given the huge cost delta, with BEV trucks costing some three times the price for a traditional model, having higher operating costs, and many questions and issues around recharging and the e-trucks’ range.
It can take years, for example, for a carrier or shipper with a private fleet to roll-out a national charging network.
Ryder has a program to help companies set-up and run BEV-based fleets – so far, it has only sold about 60 trucks through the program.
Ryder, in fact, completed a huge study using operating data from some 13,000 trucks it runs that found much higher costs for BEVs compared with traditional, diesel-powered tractors.
That result even though the analysis assumed charging networks were in place, far from the current state of affairs. The study looked only on operating expenses such as buying the vehicle, maintenance, labor and fuel.
According to Ryder’s analysis, light-duty, battery-electric vans increase annual operating costs by several percentage points.
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“As trucks get heavier the cost difference becomes more pronounced, with annual costs of operating battery-electric big rigs about twice as expensive as diesel trucks,” the Journal reports, though it notes the delta varies depending on what state a truck is operating in due to varying fuel and labor costs.
In total, Ryder found, the higher operating costs of a fully electrified fleet would add a substantial 0.5% to 1% to the rate of US inflation.
The Journal also notes that “Because battery-electric trucks are heavier than diesel trucks and require several hours to recharge, companies need more vehicles and drivers to haul the same volume of freight as a diesel truck.”
The BEV market is hardly going away, but the growth may be much slower than predicted a few years ago.
Noted Paul Rosa, senior vice president of procurement and fleet planning at Ryder-rival Penske Truck Leasing, said there is still great interest in zero-emissions vehicles. But while a few years ago customers were pushing to transition to battery-electric trucks “right away,” now they are looking to slow down.
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