While this is great to hear, it kind of stood out to me that the saving per vehicle is only about half the “incentives” per vehicle. So these have to get a lot cheaper before the incentives aren’t mandatory anymore.
Once real mass production is the norm, this will probably happen automatically over time. The initial investment difference is still eye watering.
They still are better but not really the savings stated. If you remove the purchase incentive, $325k, off a $560k struck. The diesel listed a price of $195k.
Now assuming the actual price of the truck falls more in with the current vehicle here’s what probably more important:
- Maintenance costs were effectively equal. (I honestly would have expected significantly less maintenance for an electric vehicle)
- The cost to power the etruck was 32% of the diesel. (At $0.10/kWh). The average cost of electricity in the US is $0.19/kWh so probably closer to 46%.
Maitience costs on a truck have very little to do with the engine. And add the substantial weight of the batteries. Then subtract the lower weight available for freight. It’s the reason most places that have run them are like Frito lay running chips or auto parts for Tesla. And much longer down time for changing and limited availability of miles per charge. It’s not the slam dunk they are trying to market. A large leap will be needed on battery tech. Or the federal government increase the weight limits on high ways. And provide huge investments for energy infrastructure. Well that’s currently allotted for ai the better current configuration is like Edison. Diesel generator
I’ve long assumed a hybrid would be better for long haul trucking. Diesel has plenty of torque for starting moving but I’m guessing electric would still be more efficient and reduce pollution. Keep the diesel running more at a steady speed for the highway and some charging of the battery, use the electric for low speed work and acceleration. Probably not that simple, though.
