Three of the largest truck makers recently created an association in an effort to push governments to help them build more electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging stations, The New York Times reports.
Daimler Truck, which owns Freightliner; Navistar, which Volkswagen controls and Volvo Group North America created Powering America’s Commercial Transportation (PACT). The new organization will be based in Washington and open to nonprofit organizations, supplier and other groups.
The companies formed this group partly because of the four million EVs on American roads, less than 1,000 of them are heavy-duty trucks. Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act, provides $1 billion for electric trucks, up $40,000 in tax credits for companies that buy them and subsidies for EV charging infrastructure, but officials are just beginning to distribute the money—despite the act being passed in 2022. Additionally, truck companies feel they have received less attention from federal and state governments than electric car manufacturers.
“Decarbonizing the commercial transportation sector – the fleets that keep America moving – is critical to meeting our nation’s climate goals,” John O'Leary, president and CEO of Daimler Truck North America said in a statement. “But the transition to zero-emission vehicles is stalling without the deployment of the needed charging infrastructure. Through PACT, we aim to accelerate this infrastructure buildout so that fleets can adopt ZEVs at scale and we can all benefit from impactful emissions reductions as quickly as possible.”
Powering America’s Commercial Transportation’s formation and push likely comes at an ideal time, as there are currently just nine fast charging stations in the U.S. that can serve heavy trucks, according to Department of Energy data.
Additionally, trucking companies need all the help they can get in terms of funding. Electric trucks require heavy batteries that reduce how much cargo they can haul. Zero-emission trucks are also two to three times more expensive than their diesel-powered counterparts. The difference leads to commercial EVs costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The price tag could fall as companies increase production however, The New York Times reports.
“The scale of infrastructure required for medium- and heavy-duty EV adoption is unprecedented,” Stephen Roy, chairman of Volvo Group North America and president of Mack Trucks said. “Understanding and coordination across the different stakeholders is imperative to deploy chargers quickly and cost-effectively. PACT will promote best practices to streamline this complex transition while minimizing impacts on fleets, utilities, and the economy.”
Truck manufacturers have also found themselves at odds with environmental groups. They say they are committed to selling emission-free vehicles, but the groups accused them of trying to stop policies that would force them to get EVs to the market sooner.
While advocacy groups may feel truck makers aren’t producing and selling electric models fast enough, it may be because there’s not much of an incentive to do so. On the car side of the market, Tesla forced other automakers to join the EV fold quickly. No truck maker has forced the rest of the market’s hand like that, however.
“We would have moved faster over the last five years if there was a zero-emission truck company taking the lead,” Katherine García, director of a Sierra Club program that promotes clean transportation said.
Truck makers on the other hand argue that they can’t sell electric models when the electric vehicle charging infrastructure doesn’t exist. Electric trucks require powerful chargers and larger connections to the electric grid than are currently available. Plus, a number of utilities have to upgrade old distribution lines, transformers and other equipment just to deliver the necessary energy to refuel more than one truck at once, The New York Times reports.
For example, Brien Sheahan, head of government relations and regulatory affairs at Navistar, noted that a customer ordered a fleet of electric trucks and installed 20 chargers at its depot, but the utility couldn’t energize it.
“Commercial vehicle customers require fast, reliable, affordable, and convenient power to effectively deploy ZEV fleets at scale,” Mathias Carlbaum, Navistar president and CEO said. “To enable their success, we must work collaboratively across sectors to deliver an infrastructure that provides access to seamless electricity and meets the commercial transportation industry’s unique needs. PACT provides a concerted forum dedicated to making this vision a reality; truly working to accelerate the impact of sustainable mobility.”
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