You can add another competitor who has its sights on Tesla in the emerging electric truck (e-truck) industry. Actually, we wrote about some of trucking giant Navistar’s plans in October (not to mention its autonomous trucking plans), but recent comments seemed noteworthy themselves.
Global truck maker Navistar recently said it wants to have more e-trucks on the road than Tesla by 2025, according to ArsTechnica, despite no official plans released on its targets. Navistar CEO Try Clarke said medium-duty e-trucks could go short distances while recharging at days end. Navistar has already announced plans for an all-electric bus with a range of greater than 120 miles.
However, Navistar still has not announced a range for its e-trucks, which it will possibly develop and manufacturer with Volkswagen. Late last year, Tesla announced its two semi e-truck options would go 300 or 500 miles on one charge while carrying up to 80,000 lbs.
The e-truck battle is beginning to shape up quite nicely — Daimler has also released it short-haul e-truck which UPS is using, and Cummins has plans for a Class 7 electric truck. But we don’t really know how these various options will compete on cost and value until the market matures a bit and we go beyond announcements and trial orders.
Recent reports also confirm increased consumer interest in making the switch. Navigant Research projects yearly e-truck sales to reach 332,000 by 2026, while McKinsey expects e-trucks to penetrate 15% of the international market in 2030.
Trucks are a massive source of transportation emissions, and this overall emissions. While they only represent approximately 5% of the international vehicle market, trucks represent 20% of road transportation fuel demand.
As more companies come out of the woodworks in e-truck development, everyone becomes a winner. Consumers win since more supply will push prices down and offer more choice. Businesses with more competitive e-trucking choices can switch to cleaner fleets while saving money. With more e-trucks on the road, carbon emissions and various kinds of pollution will fall, helping to make long-distance transportation more sustainable.
Related:
Electric Semi Trucks & Heavy-Duty Trucks — Available Models & Planned Models (In-Depth List)
Why Truck Fleet Buyers Are Keen On The Tesla Semi (Calculations)
Tesla Trucks Will Dominate The Market
Tesla Semi Price × Orders = $47 Million to $55 Million in Tesla Revenue (with Assumptions)
Tesla Semi Truck Questions & Incorrect Assumptions — Answered Now
Navistar & Volkswagen To Launch Medium-Duty Electric Truck In North America By Late 2019
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