All posts tagged: trucks

no price transparency, no money for trucks

no price transparency, no money for trucks

Published by skeptic

California Senate Bill 1213 is calling out truck makers for playing games with zero emission truck pricing by requiring manufacturers to make truck pricing public if they want access to the state’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) and Clean Transportation Programs. Authored by California State Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, SB 1213 passed out of the Environmental Quality Committee yesterday with a unanimous (7–0) vote, the bill moves California one step closer towards forcing transparency in electric heavy truck pricing. That’s significant, because medium- and heavy-duty trucks don’t come with the kind of “sticker price” you’d see at a car dealership. Instead, deals are typically negotiated behind closed doors, with pricing that can vary widely depending on the customer, the dealer, the number of vehicles involved, and promises to more products in the future – to say nothing of the government, utility, or even manufacturer incentives that can influence how the final numbers shake out. That lack of transparency makes it difficult to pin down what these trucks actually cost – and whether …

electric articulated haul trucks reach production [video]

electric articulated haul trucks reach production [video]

Published by skeptic

In a move that Volvo is calling a world’s first, the company has begun regular production of its new A30 and A40 Electric model articulated haul trucks – making the first time electric articulated haulers of this size have moved from a pilot stage into serial production. First shown at last year’s Bauma construction show, the game-changing Volvo A30 Electric articulated hauler promised promised to be both the first vehicle of its kind in what is both a key industrial segment for Volvo and a milestone for BEVs once it reached production. Now, that time has come. “Starting serial production of electric articulated haulers of this size is a proud moment for Volvo CE,” explains Melker Jernberg, President of Volvo CE. “It shows that our ambition to lead the transformation of our industry is backed by real execution. This milestone proves that electric solutions are ready to meet the demands of heavy, high-productivity applications, and that meaningful change is underway.” Rolling down the line A30 Electric assembly line; via Volvo CE. The new Volvo A30 Electric …

Travellers with bulldozers and concrete trucks force way on to green belt land

Travellers with bulldozers and concrete trucks force way on to green belt land

Published by Sam Flores

Travellers wielding iron bars barged their way onto green belt land and began laying concrete, villagers have claimed. On Thursday, diggers and bulldozers arrived at the field off Friendless Lane, near the village of Flamstead, on the edge of the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire. Caravans are said to have followed in the early hours of Easter Sunday. Villagers said they suspected the group had moved in during the long weekend in the hope that council officials would be slow to react to the unauthorised works at the area of outstanding natural beauty. Dacorum borough council secured an emergency injunction, but was still waiting for a court date. Hertfordshire Constabulary said it was “continuing to monitor the situation” as it investigated allegations of criminal damage, traffic offences and threatening behaviour. The force said it was reviewing footage from officers’ bodycams and would “look to make arrests wherever necessary”. Bulldozers arrived at the site in Hertfordshire on Thursday, followed by cars and caravans on Sunday A parish councillor, who wished to remain anonymous, claimed the travellers had …

Port of LA turns to electric terminal trucks to to slash dwell times

Port of LA turns to electric terminal trucks to to slash dwell times

Published by skeptic

APM Terminals has been electrifying its operations at the Port of Los Angeles over the last few years – and they’ve been able to effectively decarbonize and cut their fuel costs substantially. Those efforts have yielded another unexpected benefit, too: they’ve slashed truck idle times at the port by almost 85%. With short runs at low speeds under heavy loads in a controlled space, heavy-duty terminal tractors represent an almost ideal use case for electrification. APM Terminals Pier 400 did that math and came to the same conclusion, adding twenty new Orange EV yard dogs to their fleet at the Port of Los Angeles. Along with other decarbonization and efficiency investments, that purchase has helped the company reduce truck dwell times from an average 90 minutes to just 35. The pier has found big wins by making the whole truck-and-cargo flow less “wait your turn,” and more “keep it moving” with the addition of green lanes for ZEVs, tighter gate operations, and by pairing electrified equipment and its superior uptime with new, better rail and yard …

Semi-solid-state EV batteries are powering up trucks, flying cars

Semi-solid-state EV batteries are powering up trucks, flying cars

Published by skeptic

Semi-solid-state batteries are already expanding from the first passenger EVs to new segments, including flying cars and light trucks. New battery chemistries, such as semi-solid, all-solid-state, and sodium-ion batteries, are quickly moving from the lab to reality. At the Chengdu Motor Show last year, SAIC Motor launched the new MG4, deeming it “the world’s first mass-produced semi-solid-state” EV. As the first to achieve mass production of the new battery tech, SAIC said it was “setting a new benchmark,” enabling longer driving ranges, faster charging, enhanced efficiency, and improved safety and performance in cold weather. Advertisement – scroll for more content SAIC’s British sub-brand, MG Motor, introduced the MG SolidCore Battery last week, its semi-solid-state battery tech that will be used in upcoming EVs in Europe, such as the new MG4 EV Urban. While the company didn’t reveal any battery specs or other details, the new MG4 in China uses a 53.95 kWh semi-solid manganese-based lithium-ion battery, delivering a CLTC range of 530 km (330 miles). It starts at just 102,800 yuan ($14,500). In Europe, it …

France to spend €70M on fuel subsidies for farmers, trucks and fishermen in April – POLITICO

France to spend €70M on fuel subsidies for farmers, trucks and fishermen in April – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

PARIS — The French government will spend €70 million to subsidize the price of fuel for farmers, logistics companies and fishermen from April 1 until the end of the month. “We have built a response at the national level which is gradual, targeted, sector-specific and limited to the month of April,” Economy and Finance Minister Roland Lescure told reporters Friday evening, presenting the plan amid spiking energy prices caused by war in the Middle East. “My primary concern is, above all, to sustain growth while ensuring that every euro of public money is spent effectively,” said Lescure. Source link

Harbinger CEO John Harris stops by to talk trucks, batteries, and more

Harbinger CEO John Harris stops by to talk trucks, batteries, and more

Published by skeptic

On today’s portentous episode of Quick Charge, we’ve got Harbinger CEO John Harris on-hand to talk through the brand’s new low cab forward EV and EREV trucks, the industry-first battery deal with Airstream, and a whole lot more! Harbinger says its all-new HC Series Cab delivers best-in-class maneuverability with a tight, 42-foot turning circle, superior visibility from a car-like driving position that’s not compromised by the needs of an internal combustion engine, and a modular, Lego-style battery pack that addressing one of the most commonly called-out shortcomings of (most) modern EVs. We’ve got CEO John Harris here to tell us all about it, and explore some of the ways Harbinger’s modular battery design can help dealers and fleet operators cut costs and streamline their parts inventory. Source Links Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Advertisement – scroll for more content New episodes of Quick Charge are (allegedly) recorded several times per week, most weeks. We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time …

What driver shortage? Electric trucks give fleets a real hiring edge

What driver shortage? Electric trucks give fleets a real hiring edge

Published by skeptic

Commercial fleets have been adopting electric vehicles for their long-term fuel and maintenance savings, but Benore Logistics has found another big benefit to making the switch: going electric is helping the company attract younger drivers – and keep them. Benore Logistics operates a fleet of more than 700 trucks. While most of those trucks are still fueled by diesel, the company is diving headlong into decarbonizing its fleet, investing big money in new, alternative fuel trucks that are helping Benore reduce its fleet’s harmful carbon emissions, total cost of ownership (TCO), and – crucially – employee turnover. What’s more, Benore says younger drivers are more interested in sustainability, and are more comfortable interacting with the technology that’s baked into newer trucks than their older peers. “It’s a very difficult type of job driving a truck,” Joan Benore, vice president of the Michigan-based 3PL, told CCJ. “You have a lot of responsibility, and so for us as a company, one of the number one things that we focus on when we’re screening and looking for drivers is the driver’s …

This mine put 100 autonomous electric heavy haul trucks to work

This mine put 100 autonomous electric heavy haul trucks to work

Published by skeptic

What happens when you deploy 100 massive, driverless, and fully electric heavy haul trucks at a working mine? After nearly a year of continuous operation, one mining company is already finding out. Here’s how their great experiment is going. With driverless AI powered by tech giant Huawei 5G-Advanced network, the 100 Huaneng Ruichi all-electric heavy haul trucks were deployed at Yimin’s open-pit coal mine in Inner Mongolia last May. Since then, they’ve logged thousands of hours and moved millions of tons of material in what’s being call a breakthrough in safety and productivity for the industry. “The Huaneng Ruichi trucks have set three new records for autonomous electric mining trucks,” explains Li Shuxue, chairman of Huaneng Inner Mongolia Eastern Energy. “[Including] the world’s largest payload, fastest running speed, and lowest operating temperature.” Yimin’s autonomous mine project aligns with a broader push by the Chinese government and mining industries to integrate AI and advanced connectivity into traditional operations – an approach we’ve already seen meet with great success in port environments by Hesai and Westwell. Advertisement – …

Elon’s dirty deals, Tesla’s credit losses, and electric semi trucks save BIG money

Elon’s dirty deals, Tesla’s credit losses, and electric semi trucks save BIG money

Published by skeptic

On today’s disturbingly dirty episode of Quick Charge, Elon Musk is undoing nearly two decades of decarbonization by pumping out massive amounts of pollution to keep his xAI and Grok slop-machines rolling – and hurting some of America’s most vulnerable communities at the same time. Tesla’s troubles with pollution and carbon don’t end there, either – two of company’s biggest buyers of carbon credits are taking their business elsewhere, and the damage to Tesla’s bottom line could be in the billions. Plus: it’s a record month for Hyundai IONIQ 5 sales, electric semi trucks really do save fleets money, and some cool pictures of Volvo heavy equipment assets getting topped off at the Circle K! And, before you ask: NO! The irony is not lost on me … but I didn’t waste any water making the image, I just copy/pasted it in (he said, defensively). Source Links Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Advertisement – scroll for more content New episodes of Quick …