The Future Is Electric

They’ve not even been released yet, but already it seems as though electric HGV’s are like buses. You wait forever for one, and then 2 come along at the same time! Yes, it’s been an interesting few weeks in the world of HGV’s, with the best still to come. First came the announcement of the new electric postal vans, to be rolled out in London very soon. Next came the run up to Tesla announcement of their stunning new electric HGV, and the month rounded off with Cummins unveiling their own electronic HGV. Want to know more details? Of course you do!

Tesla

After a long wait and a lot of teasing, the end is finally in sight. This month, Tesla will be unveiling their new, all-electric HGV. In preparation for the big announcement, here’s a rundown of what we know so far:

• The initial model will have a range of 200-300 miles per charge
• Later models will range up to 1000 miles per charge
• They will be produced in the Fremont manufacturing facility in California
• Initial models will only feature a day cab, with no sleeper compartments. Again, these will be available in later models
• The design is very rounded and curvy compared to most HGV’s of its size, presumably to boost aerodynamics and increase efficiency
• The electric version will match traditional diesel models for torque and range.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed the first images of the all-electric Tesla earlier this year, with the darkened image showing a glowing EV lorry with little more than it’s LED lights piercing the darkness. This was the very first confirmation from Musk that he had set his sights on the commercial market, and now the time is almost here. Watch this space folks!

Cummins

Almost the same week as Tesla was due to announce their electric HGV, Industry leader Cummins unveiled their own heavy duty electric HGV cab. The 18,000 lb beauty has been affectionately named AEOS, after one of the 4 winged horses driving the chariot of Helios through the skies in Greek mythology. While it is only a demonstration model right now, the sleek futuristic cab is fully capable of hauling a 22-ton trailer with ease. It has a range of 100 miles per charge, which is perfect for the urban delivery runs it’s being marketed at. At the moment it takes 1 hour to charge, with Cummins already promising to bring that down to 20 minutes by 2020. The AEOS also features a 140 kWh battery pack, which will be available for separate purchase by bus and haulage companies by 2019. Full-scale manufacturing starts in January 2019, meaning that fully functioning electric HGV’s are only 18 months away.

So what do you think? Are electric HGV’s sustainable at this sort of level, or is there a still work to be done to refine them and increase their range before they can be usable by commercial haulage organisations? At The LGV Training Company, we couldn’t be more excited by these announcements and will be keeping an eagle eye out for the full announcement of the Tesla model for comparison. If you would like to talk electric HGV’s, just get in touch with us today.