125 Chanje Electric Trucks To Ryder Systems By Year’s End
This story about Chanje electric delivery vans was first published by Gas2.
Ryder Systems is one of the largest commercial truck leasing and maintenance companies in America, with nearly 6,000 professionally trained technicians in 800 service centers all across America. It is also deeply committed to reducing the environmental impact of the US transportation fleet. It has just announced that it will take delivery of 125 all-electric medium-duty delivery vans from Chanje by the end of 2017.
Ryder entered into a cooperative agreement with Chanje last August to be the exclusive distributor, leasing agent, and maintenance facility for Chanje trucks. Most of the new trucks from Chanje will be available to customers who either want to “green” their business, or at least their business image, or enjoy the lower total operating costs of electric vehicles. But Ryder will also utilize some of them at its maintenance facilities in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and San Jose as well as in Chicago and New York. Ryder is also the exclusive distributor for the range-extended delivery vans built by Workhorse, as I recently shared in another CleanTechnica article.
The Chanje medium-duty delivery vehicles can haul a total of 6,000 lb of cargo inside a 580 cubic foot box. They are equipped with a 70 kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery sourced from Chinese battery manufacturer Sinopoly. Range is 100 miles. Each truck is equipped with an onboard 7.2 kW charger and can use a Level 2 charger supplied by JuiceBox, a division of eMotorWerks, the electric vehicle charging company that was just purchased by European utility company Enel.
Chanje is a joint venture between Smith Electric and FDG Electric Vehicles. The name itself is a variation of Changjiang, the Chinese name of an electric vehicle produced by FDG in China, according to China EV. The trucks are manufactured in China and are shipped in knock-down form inside shipping containers before final assembly in the United States.
The company is about more than just delivery vans, however. Plans are afoot to manufacture a complete line of electric trucks and buses in a variety of lengths and capacities. The ability to ship the finished products inside containers gives it access to many markets around the world. Once demand in the US grows, an American factory is contemplated.
Chanje is also designing its vehicles with V2G technology in mind. Solar power is envisioned to assist in charging the vehicles, which will also be available to help stabilize the grid when connected to charging equipment. In theory, fleet operators can sell excess electricity back to the local power company to earn extra money from their investment. Chanje is primarily focused on leasing its vehicles and claims lease rates will be equivalent to those for conventional delivery vans.
“The rollout of our new electric vehicle offering reinforces Ryder’s leadership in commercial advanced vehicle technology solutions and demonstrates our commitment to identifying innovative ways to meet our customers’ transportation needs,” said Dennis Cooke, president of global fleet management solutions at Ryder. “We are proud to partner with Chanje to bring an all-electric medium duty vehicle to market as this will further promote energy efficiency in the industry by allowing our rental and lease customers to implement electric vehicles into their operations on a short-term or long-term basis.”
“Ryder’s order of 125 Chanje electric trucks is significant because it demonstrates their commitment to all-electric commercial mobility and their role as our sales channel and service partner,” said Bryan Hansel, founder & CEO of Chanje. “There is a pent-up customer demand for commercial electric vehicles which makes today’s delivery of Chanje electric truck to Ryder a significant milestone.”
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