THINGS HAPPENED FIRST TIME IN 2016

Rise of electric trucks and buses

The As we all know past year will be remembered for birth of many electric cars, bikes and trucks. Daimler too showcased first fully-electric heavy distribution truck in 2016. Climate control, global warming, pollution, emission control were part of global news throughout last year. Some European cities banned diesel vehicles and some were discussing about going to only electric vehicles way in future. According to Mercedes and Daimler, 70 % population of world will be living in cities in 2050, so there will be good future of pollution-less, noise-less commercial vehicles. That’s why they are ready to deliver electric van in this year, according to Daimler -

MERCEDES BENZ ELECTRIC HEAVY TRUCK 

"A small series of the third generation of this light duty truck, up to 6 tones of gross vehicle weight, will be delivered to customers in Europe, the US and Japan as of 2017, it can travel 100 kms on one charge depends on load"

Daimler’s heavy distribution truck can cover 200 kms on single charge with an admissible weight as high as 26 tones. According to Daimler “The power is supplied by a battery pack consisting of three lithium-ion battery modules. This results in a range of up to 200 km – enough for a typical daily delivery tour.  According to Mercedes-Benz “However, power and operating range can be adapted to the individual mission profiles like a conventionally powered truck. An intelligent battery management system, likewise developed by Deutsche ACCUmotive,optimises the balance between service life and performance of the electric urban truck. The batteries are recharged at permanently installed charging stations with a charging capacity of up to 150 kW. Totally empty batteries can currently be recharged fully in two to three hours.In addition, the electric operating range also benefits from converting braking power into electric energy. Every time the truck decelerates, the electric motors mutate into generators that convert braking energy into electricity and in this way recharge the batteries. Apart from recovering energy, this also reduces wear and tear on the brakes, which lowers the maintenance costs for the trucking company.Thanks to the integrated concept with motors adjacent to the wheel hubs, the batteries are housed in a crash-proof location inside three-axle truck. 

Tesla Motors also hired many engineers of Daimler for making their Tesla Semi truck.  According to Elon Musk “In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport. Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.”

nikola one electric truck

Nikola Motors is one who shook the automotive world by unveiling their electric truck.  100% zero emissions, 2000 ft.lbs torque, 320 kwh battery, 100% electric drive, 800-1200 mile range, 1000 horsepower , 1/2 the operating cost compared to diesel, regenerative braking, 15 minutes refill time etc are some wow factors of this great electric giant.

We saw some local produced electric buses in auto expo 2016 too, some of them are being tested on roads, thus we can assume good future of electric buses in India , especially in national capital New Delhi which was in news throughout last year for pollution and diesel vehicles.  Hope in this year’s auto expo we will see some more electric commercial vehicles .