New report: over 5,000 e-buses now on US streets

Electric transit buses are becoming increasingly common sights on US streets. A new report from clean transport consultancy CALSTART found that there are some 5,480 full-size zero-emission buses in operation in the US—an increase of 66 percent since 2021—and another 859 in Canada.

e entire US eet of full-size transit buses numbered about 72,700 in 2019.

Federal incentives and—particularly in California— state programs have been a major enabler for transit agencies to phase out fossil fuel-burning buses. e Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which became law in November of 2021, has made historic levels of funding available. In 2022, more than $1.6 billion was allocated to 150 transit eets throughout the US through the FTA’s Low and No Emission Grants and the Bus and Bus Facilities Grants.

“ e federal incentive has been a signi cant bene t, and will continue to be,” said Jarrett Stoltzfus, Senior Director of Government Relations and Public Policy at electric bus OEM Proterra.

Stoltzfus added that battery-electric buses are proving far more popular with transit agencies than hydrogen fuel cell buses. In 2022, there were about 5,269 battery-electric buses in operation or on the way, along with 211 fuel cell buses.

Hydrogen buses have the advantage of longer range, but the gap is shrinking as BEV technology continues to improve. Drawbacks of hydrogen include a lack of refueling infrastructure, and above all, costs.

“ e cost of a hydrogen fuel cell bus is quite a bit higher on average,” said Stoltzfus. “ ere’s a use case where hydrogen makes sense, but we found with the vast majority of transit customers…battery-electric is the only player.”

However, Mike Hynes, Electric Bus Program Manager at CALSTART, said, “A transit agency must weigh many factors and ultimately make the choice that is right for them. It is reasonable to think that some agencies may deploy both technologies.”

California remains the centerpiece of the electric bus market—there are nearly 2,000 e-buses in use by transit agencies around the state.

Tesla to build Semis and expand battery production at Nevada Gigafactory

Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory is quite a place—since its 2014 opening, the company has invested $6.2 billion in the region, and the 5.4-million-square-foot, 11,000-employee facility has produced some 7.3 billion battery cells, 1.5 million battery packs and 3.6 million drive units.

Now Tesla has announced plans to invest an additional $3.6 billion, hire 3,000 more team members, and add two major new operations at the site: one to build 4680-format battery cells at an annual capacity of 100 GWh (enough for around 1.5 million electric vehicles); and another to build the new Tesla Semi electric Class 8 truck.

Tesla originally announced that the expansion would consist of “two new factories,” but later made it clear that the plan is to build out the existing Gigafactory building to its originally-planned dimensions in order to accommodate the new cell and Semi production.

According to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, Tesla’s total annual battery capacity could be as much as 439 GWh by the end of the decade, nipping at the heels of China’s BYD, the world’s largest EV battery producer with some 546 GWh of forecast capacity. (Tesla has been talking much bigger numbers—500 GWh a year in Nevada and 1,000 GWh total).

Tesla has been increasing production of its 4680 cells in California and in Texas, tripling production in the third quarter of last year from the previous quarter. Benchmark believes the company’s goal is to bring its cell-level cost down to $70 per kWh.

It’s unclear whether Panasonic, which currently makes battery cells at Tesla’s Nevada Gig, will be involved in the next round of expansion.

Meanwhile, Tesla’s earnings announcement for Q4 2022 brought the news of the company’s “best year ever on every level.” In 2022, Tesla delivered over 1.3 million cars and achieved a stellar 17% operating margin.

“On a full-year basis, revenue increased over 50%, operating income doubled, free cash ows increased over 50%, and our margins remained industry-leading,” said CFO Zach Kirkhorn.

Ebusco’s new lightweight 18-meter electric bus

Dutch electric bus and charging infrastructure manufacturer Ebusco has announced its new Ebusco 3.0 18-meter electric bus.

e company has used lightweight composite materials to keep the e-bus’s starting weight down to 14,500 kg (32,000 lb). In combination with 350 and 500 kWh LFP battery packs, such a lightweight frame should give the new electric bus a range of 700 kilometers (435 miles), according to the company. e bus has a maximum capacity of 150 passengers. e company adds that the lightweight structure enables the Ebusco 3.0 18-meter to utilize a single-tire axle con guration, making it possible to create an extra-wide aisle for people with physical disabilities and for prams.

“I am immensely proud that we are presenting this 18-meter bus today,” said Peter Bijvelds, CEO of Ebusco. “With about a third of our workforce working in R&D and engineering, we continuously manage to develop at high speed.”

California logistics firm to add 92 Freightliner electric trucks to its fleet

Logistics company Schneider has ordered 92 Class 8 electric trucks for its intermodal operations in Southern California.

A er the rst order of 62 Freightliner eCascadias, manufactured by Daimler Truck North America, Schneider’s second order of 30 additional units brings the total to 92 Class 8 EVs.

Schneider says electric trucks are crucial to meeting its sustainability goals of reducing CO2 emissions by 7.5% by 2025 and 60% by 2035. Schneider states that it has already achieved more than half of its 2025 goal by reducing per-mile emissions by 5%.

e new eCascadias have the potential to avoid emitting over 81,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per day compared to conventional ICE trucks.

“ e integration of nearly 100 electric trucks is an important milestone for Schneider as we are moving beyond the electric truck testing phase to running an operation at scale,” said Schneider President and CEO Mark Rourke.

GM opens Canadian EV plant for BrightDrop Zevo electric delivery vans

GM and its subsidiary BrightDrop have opened an EV manufacturing plant in Canada a er completely retooling the CAMI Assembly plant in Ontario.

e automaker began retooling CAMI for EV production in May 2022, and in just seven months, the team installed entirely new production equipment covering two million square feet.

BrightDrop will now use the CAMI plant to manufacture its Zevo 600 electric delivery vans, and DHL will be its rst Canadian customer.

“ e BrightDrop Zevo is a prime example of GM’s exible Ultium EV architecture, which is allowing us to quickly launch a full range of EVs for our customers,” said GM President Mark Reuss.

New York announces $23 million for transportation electrification initiatives

e state of New York has allocated $23 million in new funding for transportation electri cation initiatives. e total includes: $8 million under the Direct Current Fast Charging program to install EV infrastructure in Bu alo, Rochester, and Syracuse, including in underserved communities; $7 million in DCFC awards to ChargePoint and EvGateway to improve access in upstate New York; and $8 million for electric school buses and paratransit buses under the New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program.

e initiatives support the state’s goals under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act to reduce carbon emissions by 85 percent by 2050 and to direct at least 35 percent of the bene ts of clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities.

J.D. Power sets out to quantify progress towards EV adoption

If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it, as the saying goes. e J.D. Power EV Index is a new analytics tool designed to track the growth of the EV market in the US. Each month, the index arrives at a single number (on a 100-point scale) that represents the progress towards parity of EVs with legacy ICE vehicles. Sub-category numbers represent various roadblocks to parity.

Metrics are available at the national, regional, state and Designated Market Area (DMA) levels, and can be broken down by segment, brand and model.

e latest EV Index score is 47 (as of November 2022). Some categories improved and others declined during the 12-month pilot period.

J.D. Power aggregates millions of data points into six speci c categories to make up the EV Index: e Experience score is 89, down 2 points from a year ago.

Interest—Potential commitment to purchasing an EV based on customer data. e Interest score is currently 32, up 8 points from a year ago in the pilot phase, due largely to the growing number of EV models available or soon coming to market.

Availability— e proportion of new-vehicle buyers who have an EV purchase option that meets their buying needs. e Availability score is 30, up 12 points compared to a year ago.

Adoption— e proportion of new-vehicle buyers who purchase an EV. e Adoption score is 22, down 4 points from a year ago.

A ordability— e total cost of ownership of an EV compared with the ICE segment average (considering incentives, operating costs and residual value). e A ordability score is 84, down 12 points year over year, as EV prices have increased and 15 models lost eligibility for tax credits beginning in August when the IRA’s North America manufacturing criteria kicked in. e A ordability score is expected to change dramatically for January as the manufacturers’ volume cap is li ed. Infrastructure—Availability, location, speed and reliability of EV charging. e Infrastructure score is 27, down 4 points, primarily because the volume of EVs in operation is outpacing the rate of charger installations.

Experience—Owners’ overall satisfaction with their EVs, including appeal, quality, durability, range, and the sales and service experiences.

“Vehicle electri cation has industry leaders grappling with billion-dollar decisions, and hyper-detailed data and analytics will help guide their decision-making,” said Elizabeth Krear, VP of Electric Vehicle Practice at J.D. Power. “We’ve created a smart and dynamic way to capture how the EV marketplace is performing in relation to gas-powered vehicles, and the index provides a heightened level of detail never seen before in this arena.”

Envirotech and Garsite to deliver electric aircraft refueler to Atlantic Aviation in Colorado

EV manufacturer Envirotech Vehicles (EVTV), working with aviation refueling equipment maker Garsite, will deliver an electric aircra refueler to Atlantic Aviation in Colorado.

Phillip Oldridge, CEO of EVTV, said: “We are proud to deliver the rst all-electric aircra refueler to Atlantic Aviation and further plan to continue ful lling the aviation industry’s demand for more sustainable ground support equipment through our partnership with Garsite.” e newly delivered vehicle is an aviation gasoline (avgas) truck with a 900-gallon capacity and an EV chassis.

“ anks to our relationship with EVTV, we have been able to develop an a ordable and reliable green alternative for aviation refueling,” said Teresa Montgomery, VP and GM of Garsite. “We have been purposeful in building a vehicle that is similar to operate as our traditional combustion engine refuelers so that our ground support teams can easily and intuitively shi to these electric models with minimal additional training.”

Electric school buses from Thomas Built Buses and Proterra log one million miles of operation

omas Built Buses and Proterra unveiled their Saf-TLiner C2 Jouley electric school bus back in 2018 , and there are now more than 300 units on the road. Now the companies have announced that the Jouleys have driven more than one million miles for school districts across North America.

is may be just the beginning. School buses, with their light duty cycles and predictable schedules, are o en cited as an ideal use case for electri cation, and unprecedented amounts of federal funding will soon become available under the EPA’s Clean School Bus program.

e Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley uses Proterra Powered’s battery technology. It has total battery capacity of 226 kWh, and o ers up to 135 miles of range.

TBB and Proterra o er school bus operators a comprehensive, turn-key EV program that includes planning and funding consultation, electric school buses, charging systems, and charging infrastructure design and installation.

“Reaching one million miles with our C2 Jouley is a testament to the continued success of our best-in-class electric product and partnership with Proterra,” said Nick Rini, Director of the Freightliner Specialty Vehicles eMobility Group. “Together, we are paving the way for a cleaner and more e cient future for our kids, communities and the transportation industry.”

Volvo Trucks delivers heavyduty electric concrete mixer truck to CEMEX

e iconic cement mixer truck, which fascinated so many of us in our childhood, is considered one of the most challenging vehicle classes to electrify, due to heavy loads and the need for continuous mixing of the concrete. However, Volvo Trucks and global construction materials company CEMEX have been working together since 2021 to make it happen, and they now have a fully electric heavy-duty mixer truck on the road.

e Volvo FMX Electric concrete mixer truck features two motors with total power of 330 kW, an I-Shi gearbox, and four battery packs with total capacity of 360 kWh. e mixer body is powered by a hydraulic system that gets its power from a traction battery.

e electric mixer truck is now in operation at the Berlin Spandau ready-mix plant in Berlin. It can be used for a full day’s work with a single top-up charge, says Volvo.

“Both our companies have committed to ambitious sustainability targets and collaboration is the way to get there,” said Volvo Trucks President Roger Alm. “Our electric trucks are zero-emission, and their silent operation also provides a better environment for people working at construction sites, as well as for residents.”

Volvo Trucks is developing a comprehensive electric line-up, including vehicles from 16 to 44 tons, in every segment from city distribution to refuse handling to urban construction and regional haulage. e company hopes to make half of its total sales of new trucks electric by 2030.

VIA Motors sells 2,000 Class 3 electric chassis cabs to Pegasus

EV manufacturer VIA Motors has received a purchase order for 2,000 Class 3 VIA electric cutaway chassis cabs from Pegasus Specialty Vehicles to build Type A school buses, electric shuttles and paratransit buses.

A Pegasus bus on a VIA cutaway will feature all-wheel drive, low oor height and a small turning radius. e gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) will range from 12,500 to 14,000 pounds, while the electric motors will generate 400 horsepower and will be able to transport a payload of 7,000 to 8,200 pounds within a range of 180 miles.

Volta Trucks announces first production orders of over 300 vehicles

Swedish commercial EV manufacturer Volta Trucks has received its rst orders for over 300 units of its medium-duty urban delivery electric truck Volta Zero, with associated revenue of more than €85 million.

Series production Volta Zeros are expected to start rolling o the line of the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria, in early Q2 2023.

Volta says it will reveal customer details “later.” e company claims to have pre-orders for 6,500 trucks.

“Volta Trucks is poised for a successful rst year of sales and production. We are con dent and focused on delivering on our strategic ambitions and purpose to decarbonize and improve the safety of city centers,” said Essa Al-Saleh, CEO of Volta Trucks.