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Today, private and for-hire fleets have a number of alternatives to diesel鈥攔anging from battery electric and catenary electric (powered by overhead or underground wires) to hybrid electric and alternative fuels. These experts specifically explore electric vehicles (EV) powered by battery electric and the growing reasons to consider them.

Soaring diesel prices are a main cause of today鈥檚 high food prices. Not surprisingly, expensive fuel is one of the biggest cost factors for fleets out there, says Ann Mary Myers, Director of Special Projects at , a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of premium medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. 鈥淚 call the electric vehicle an expensive truck that utilizes a cheaper fuel.鈥�

Myers says Peterbilt plans to bring EV prices down in the next few years. That will lower total cost of ownership 鈥� a huge factor in why EVs are attractive to fleets today, she adds.

Fuel savings aren鈥檛 the only highlight. There鈥檚 less maintenance with EVs, adds Charlotte Argue, Senior Manager of Sustainable Mobility at , a telematics provider that advances security, connects commercial vehicles to the Internet, and provides web-based analytics to help customers better manage their fleets.

Moreover, Argue sees momentum for electrification of fleets coming from three new market forces: companies鈥� emissions commitments, government incentives, and technological advances.

鈥淭en years ago, we wouldn鈥檛 really be talking about electric trucks for a lot of these duty cycles and vocations,鈥� Argue says.

Jessica Savage is Vice President of Service and Distribution at , a manufacturer of state-of-the-art electric commercial vehicles. She says that starting in mid-2024 Xos Trucks will roll out a full line of Class 5-8 trucks to address a variety of customers鈥� applications. 鈥淲e have some really in-depth energy calculations that we can dive into with them to make sure that we are going to be able to meet their needs,鈥� she says.

Vehicle choice isn鈥檛 the only consideration for companies with private fleets or their for-hire trucking providers. Both Xos and Peterbilt have networks in place to aid with infrastructure and the full electrification journey. A key consideration is electricity availability. When a utility company has to increase the power grid to accommodate a fleet鈥檚 needs, it can add years to implementation.

That doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean companies should rush. Savage says sometimes Xos will counsel customers to wait six months to a year for technology to advance that鈥檚 a better fit for their duty cycle, vocation and performance requirements.

For fleets that don鈥檛 want to wait and aren鈥檛 ready to buy, offers the opportunity to rent EVs. Fluid Truck is a peer-to-peer truck sharing platform that offers 24/7 mobile access to a wide array of trucks. Jenifer Snyder, Co-Founder and General Counsel of Fluid Truck explains, 鈥淲e work with a lot of small and medium businesses who just can鈥檛 afford to buy an EV.鈥�

By renting or buying, carbon-reducing commercial vehicles are coming. Rick Mihelic, Director of Emerging Technologies at the is hopeful about green trucks and fleets taking root. NACFE works to drive the development and adoption of efficiency enhancing, environmentally beneficial, and cost-effective technologies, services and methodologies in the North American freight industry.

鈥淪omewhere around 2040 you鈥檒l see about a 50-50 mix in the populations,鈥� says Mihelic. And that鈥檚 good news for the industry.鈥�

This article was originally featured in Edition 3 of 2023 in our official magazine, Redefining The Road. Download the latest edition here.

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