Charged EVs | This week’s electric truck news—Einride, Range Energy, Volvo, Tesla, Windrose
Sweden’s Einride to deploy 75 electric trucks for Amazon
Swedish electric truck provider Einride will deploy 75 electric heavy-duty trucks and supporting charging infrastructure for retail oligopoly Amazon at five US locations.
Reuters reports that Amazon is increasingly relying on truck-as-a-service operators such as Einride, which provide vehicles, charging infrastructure and fleet-management software, allowing the company to electrify without directly owning the assets.
Range Energy’s eTrailers undergo extreme winter testing
Range Energy adds electric propulsion, regenerative braking and onboard battery power to standard semi-trailers, allowing fleets to save fuel without the expense of buying electric tractors.
The company’s production eTrailer recently completed cold weather testing at Smither’s Winter Proving Ground in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As Clean Trucking reports, not only did the trailer perform well in sub-zero temperatures, snow and ice, it also demonstrated better traction, braking and handling than conventional trailers.
Who cares about the Cola war? The electric truck war is heating up.
The Coke vs Pepsi war may rage on forever, but we’re more interested in the battle shaping up among makers of electric Class 8 trucks. PepsiCo has been operating a small fleet of Tesla Semis for several years now. Tesla recently announced the start of mass production. More fleet operators are placing orders, and Tesla has begun rolling out dedicated charging stations for its trucks.
Rival Coke may be opting for Volvo e-trucks. Coke Canada Bottling recently procured seven more Volvo VNR Electric trucks, bringing its total Canadian electric fleet to nearly 40 vehicles.
But do European OEMs really want to sell e-trucks? Even as Volvo announces new electric truck models, the company continues lobbying to weaken emissions standards in the US and Europe, and investing money in hydrogen fuel cells.
Volvo and its colleagues may need to raise their electric games—Tesla is not the only upstart competition they face. Chinese e-truck OEM Windrose recently completed its first US delivery, handing over a long-haul electric semi to a Texas logistics firm.
