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With the EU voting on new air quality rules, satellite data shows that 98% of people face pollution above limits recommended by the World Health Organization.
Speaking of DHL from 2014 to 2022 they were an automotive producer, building these things. They were making a loss on the whole operation and tried to halt production in 2020 but they needed so many trucks that they went on to produce regardless, 2022 the whole thing was sold off to a Luxembourgian consortium now calling themselves B-ON still producing street scooters.
That, btw, is what an actual last-mile truck looks like: It’s a minivan. At least if you’re a parcel delivery service. They should operate from depots, swarming out, making their tour of direct deliveries and returning on the same day, and those depots should not be serviced by trucks, but trains. Supermarkets can use full-size trucks for that purpose, easily shipping multiple pallets to a limited number of locations, but mostly when you’re looking at electric full-sized trucks the reason they exist is shoddy rail infrastructure.
Oh and older, used/refurbished, DHL streetscooters sell like hotcakes. It’s not easy to get that kind of vehicle as a small business so they sell at a premium, which makes it attractive to DHL to sell and buy a new one vs. continuing to maintain an old one. They’re ridiculously utilitarian: Huge loading volume with very low loading floor with actual right angles, cargo accessible from back and side… and only one seat (but with room to install a second), utterly reliable.
If you’re a farmer delivering fresh cabbage directly to local greengrocers, or a baker driving things from the actual bakery to your 3-10 outlets this is just a perfect vehicle.
EV trucks currently comprise such a tiny proportion of last mile vehicles that I can’t even find industry statistics on them. This is because their range and tonnage is so poor relative to ICE that they’re not economically viable yet for almost all last mile transport. DHL (and other logistics companies) is currently trialing a handful of EV truck prototypes. None of them have deployed EV at scale for the reasons I outline.
The claim that EV trucks aren’t in development is clearly incorrect. Tesla trucks are hotly anticipated.
Tesla can do whatever they want, who cares. Just like the tesla truck, they get all the hype but there are already tons of available electric trucks, available and selling, like the f150 electric. To say that they are still on development because tesla hasnt released theirs is silly.
Of course they are still on development, everything is always on development. But they are also available for purchase and they are being purchased. Not to the numbers that their conventional fuel counterparts, the production rate hasnt reached those levels yet, but still.
The bottleneck is the production, not the demand or viability. For last mile, at least here in Gothenburg, there are plenty of electric cargo bikes like this
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. It could be a regional nomenclature thing. When I refer to trucks I am referring to last mile transport. This isn’t an F150. This is vehicles capable of transporting one or more cargo containers. These vehicles comprise the vast majority of the transport of food to grocery stores, for example.
There is currently little demand for existing last mile trucks because of their poor range and tonnage. However I believe that will be solved soon. Solid state batteries are coming along nicely.
The demand is there, the supply hasnt caught. As i mentioned, in Gothenburg(which is Volvo’s HQ), there are tons of electric trucks and cargo bikes. Basically every day i see at least one truck like this one
Postnord intents to replace its conventional trucks with these by 2030.
Just because the US is behind times, doesnt mean that the entire world is also like that. And if Volvo and Scania, 2 of the biggest truck manufacturers(and they are both swedish) have available electric trucks, then there are electric trucks. The only bottleneck is production. The demand is there but it takes time to scale up production of basically an entirely new vehicle. China is also going wild with electric vehicles, though i am not familiar with that market.
Honestly, i think we might start seeing bans on non electric vehicles for cities, at least in Europe. The noise and pollution reduction is significant and very perceivable.
EV trucks are not in development, they are on sale and deployed. Especially last mile ones.
https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/trucks/renewable-fuels/electric-trucks.html
https://www.dhl.com/se-en/home/press/press-archive/2021/dhl-freight-and-volvo-trucks-join-forces-to-speed-up-transition-to-fossil-free-road-transport-on-longer-distances.html
In Gothenburg, there are plenty of all electric trucks. Tbf, Gothenburg is Volvo’s HQ but still. Volvo has sold more than 4300 electric trucks
https://www.volvogroup.com/en/news-and-media/news/2023/feb/news-4474482.html
Electric vehicles make the city much more livable. Less noise and pollution.
Speaking of DHL from 2014 to 2022 they were an automotive producer, building these things. They were making a loss on the whole operation and tried to halt production in 2020 but they needed so many trucks that they went on to produce regardless, 2022 the whole thing was sold off to a Luxembourgian consortium now calling themselves B-ON still producing street scooters.
That, btw, is what an actual last-mile truck looks like: It’s a minivan. At least if you’re a parcel delivery service. They should operate from depots, swarming out, making their tour of direct deliveries and returning on the same day, and those depots should not be serviced by trucks, but trains. Supermarkets can use full-size trucks for that purpose, easily shipping multiple pallets to a limited number of locations, but mostly when you’re looking at electric full-sized trucks the reason they exist is shoddy rail infrastructure.
Oh and older, used/refurbished, DHL streetscooters sell like hotcakes. It’s not easy to get that kind of vehicle as a small business so they sell at a premium, which makes it attractive to DHL to sell and buy a new one vs. continuing to maintain an old one. They’re ridiculously utilitarian: Huge loading volume with very low loading floor with actual right angles, cargo accessible from back and side… and only one seat (but with room to install a second), utterly reliable.
If you’re a farmer delivering fresh cabbage directly to local greengrocers, or a baker driving things from the actual bakery to your 3-10 outlets this is just a perfect vehicle.
Dhl in Sweden(and elsewhere) also uses these electric bikes
https://www.velove.se/news/city-containers-new-pilot-dhl-express-frankfurt-utrecht
EV trucks currently comprise such a tiny proportion of last mile vehicles that I can’t even find industry statistics on them. This is because their range and tonnage is so poor relative to ICE that they’re not economically viable yet for almost all last mile transport. DHL (and other logistics companies) is currently trialing a handful of EV truck prototypes. None of them have deployed EV at scale for the reasons I outline.
The claim that EV trucks aren’t in development is clearly incorrect. Tesla trucks are hotly anticipated.
Tesla can do whatever they want, who cares. Just like the tesla truck, they get all the hype but there are already tons of available electric trucks, available and selling, like the f150 electric. To say that they are still on development because tesla hasnt released theirs is silly.
Of course they are still on development, everything is always on development. But they are also available for purchase and they are being purchased. Not to the numbers that their conventional fuel counterparts, the production rate hasnt reached those levels yet, but still.
The bottleneck is the production, not the demand or viability. For last mile, at least here in Gothenburg, there are plenty of electric cargo bikes like this
https://www.velove.se/news/city-containers-new-pilot-dhl-express-frankfurt-utrecht
I am pretty sure that by 2030, the majority of trucks will be electric(and almost all sales will be electric).
Perhaps I wasn’t clear. It could be a regional nomenclature thing. When I refer to trucks I am referring to last mile transport. This isn’t an F150. This is vehicles capable of transporting one or more cargo containers. These vehicles comprise the vast majority of the transport of food to grocery stores, for example.
There is currently little demand for existing last mile trucks because of their poor range and tonnage. However I believe that will be solved soon. Solid state batteries are coming along nicely.
The demand is there, the supply hasnt caught. As i mentioned, in Gothenburg(which is Volvo’s HQ), there are tons of electric trucks and cargo bikes. Basically every day i see at least one truck like this one
https://www.volvotrucks.com/en-en/news-stories/press-releases/2022/may/dhl-and-volvo-trucks-kick-off-new-zero-emission-cooperation-with-order-for-up-to-44-electric-trucks.html
Postnord, the swedish/danish mail provider, has tons of these electric “golf carts”
https://news.cision.com/postnord/i/electric-car-parcels,c2905777
Basically by 2030, most companies will have or purchase only electric vehicles. Scania is also making electric trucks like this
https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/products-and-services/trucks/battery-electric-truck.html
Postnord intents to replace its conventional trucks with these by 2030.
Just because the US is behind times, doesnt mean that the entire world is also like that. And if Volvo and Scania, 2 of the biggest truck manufacturers(and they are both swedish) have available electric trucks, then there are electric trucks. The only bottleneck is production. The demand is there but it takes time to scale up production of basically an entirely new vehicle. China is also going wild with electric vehicles, though i am not familiar with that market.
Honestly, i think we might start seeing bans on non electric vehicles for cities, at least in Europe. The noise and pollution reduction is significant and very perceivable.