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posted by mrpg on Saturday September 16 2017, @03:05PM   Printer-friendly
from the v=i*r dept.

On Thursday, Daimler announced that it would bring its line of short-haul electric trucks to the US. The United Parcel Service (UPS) will buy the first three trucks, and Daimler is also offering eight trucks to New York City-based non-profits, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, the New York Botanical Garden, Habitat for Humanity New York City, and Big Reuse Brooklyn.
...
The Fuso eCanter trucks will have a range of 62 miles (or about 100km) and will be sold in Japan and Europe as well. Daimler said it's only planning on producing 500 trucks in the next year, but it intends to start mass-producing the trucks in 2019. It's unclear how much these trucks cost.

The trucks have a load capacity of three and a half tons, Daimler said, with a powertrain that draws on "six high-voltage lithium-ion battery packs with 420 V and 13.8 kWh each."

New York City and the Bronx in particular have asthma rates several times the national average. Many blame the high levels of trucking in the city. Shifting delivery fleets to EVs could help.


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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday September 16 2017, @05:58PM (5 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday September 16 2017, @05:58PM (#569055) Journal

    Prototypes for failure, I think. We had an article about electric trucks hauling much more weight, with a range of about 100 miles. It's an fnord submission - https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=17/09/01/1137223 [soylentnews.org]

    Note that 100 miles or less isn't even a "short haul" - it's just local deliveries. "Short haul" would be what we used to call "regional" driving - ~300 to 500 miles. Long haul starts at 500 miles.

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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by tfried on Saturday September 16 2017, @06:57PM (2 children)

    by tfried (5534) on Saturday September 16 2017, @06:57PM (#569080)

    Well, maybe so, but local deliveries - and in particular in high-density areas - are something where EVs can really shine: Lots and lots and lots of stop and go, but no particular need for a high mileage. If delivery stops are a quarter mile apart on average, and we assume two minutes per stop, minimum, 62 miles is easily a working day's worth of range.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:11AM (1 child)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday September 17 2017, @02:11AM (#569224) Journal

      You're assuming a bit more than you realize. Let's take New York City as an example. You do realize that food, clothing, etc, isn't actually warehoused in Manhattan and the other boroughs? Kings and Queens, maybe, to some extent, but most certainly NOT Manhattan. Everything is on the other side of the river, in Secaucus, North Bergen, some as far away as Elizabeth. So, your delivery vehicle has to get INTO the city, first, THEN make it's deliveries, and finally, get back OUT OF the city.

      Sure, there are niches where a truck with a range of less than 100 miles will be useful. But, those are niches. And, a small miscalculation, or a degradation of the battery(ies) will result in being stranded.

      • (Score: 2) by AndyTheAbsurd on Sunday September 17 2017, @05:48PM

        by AndyTheAbsurd (3958) on Sunday September 17 2017, @05:48PM (#569444) Journal

        NYC is exactly the niche where a truck with less than 100 miles will be useful. Far north in North Bergen to the southern tip of Manhattan is only 11.4 miles. That means a 62 mile range is plenty to get from a depot in North Bergen to anywhere in Manhattan, and back, and make another run before needing to recharge. Also consider that electric vehicles use less energy when stopped (pretty close to none if there's no radio, no A/C, and it's daylight so you don't need headlights) and require less maintenance, both of which mean savings for the operator.

        These are definitely "last (few) mile(s)" delivery type vehicles - and NYC is exactly the environment that they are designed for.

        (And I'm not even going to get started on you calling it "Kings" instead of the borough name that everyone would recognize...and it's not even the borough where you'd put a warehouse if you had to put on inside the borders or NYC!)

        --
        Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 16 2017, @07:14PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 16 2017, @07:14PM (#569084)

    Why all the hating on EVs and NY?

    • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 17 2017, @08:24AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 17 2017, @08:24AM (#569316)

      Are you kidding? Green energy and coastal cities? That's right-wing kryptonite.