Manufacturers, Fleets, & OEMs

 

Canoo Inc.

 

A Bright Spot For Struggling EV Startup Canoo. According to Axios, “Canoo’s depressed share price bounced 12% yesterday on the news it secured a binding, 9,300-vehicle order from the work van rental company Kingbee, Ben writes. Why it matters: The California-based startup is among several new EV market entrants to struggle after going public. Quick take: The Kingbee agreement — which has an option for an additional 9,300 — also signals how corporate and municipal fleet purchases are an important EV deployment driver. Yes, but: Canoo faces a number of other challenges. The latest: a report in Fortune about its ties to Walmart, which announced plans over the summer to buy 4,500 Canoo vans.” [Axios, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles

 

Peak Oil Demand — Will It Be Hastened By Electric Semis? According to Clean Technica, “While Tesla fans and logistics companies anxiously await deliveries of the first electric Semis, China leads the world in low-emissions trucking. Bloomberg reports that light commercial electric vehicle sales have gone from 1% of market share to 10% in the last two years, and may be a big factor in early onset peak oil demand. Medium- and heavy-duty truck sales in China are also on the rise. Sales of electric semi trailers haven risen from close to zero two years ago to 3.4% of the market in mid-2022. As Bloomberg’s Colin McKerracher puts it: ‘the trend for the year is still strongly up and to the right.’ ‘China is the largest commercial vehicle market in the world, so what happens there moves the needle globally. At 10% electric share, China is well ahead of almost all other countries in this segment. Only South Korea has a higher adoption rate, with more than 20% of its light commercial vehicle sales already electric so far in 2022.’ 18,000 light commercial vehicles were sold in China in August. Most of the heavy trucks in China are not yet operating on long-haul routes but are deployed within cities. This use may expand rapidly as China adjusts the mix of policy, technology, and economic levers available to accelerate the adoption of heavy vehicles with zero emissions and greater capabilities. Bloomberg expects this to be sooner rather than later.” [Clean Technica, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

E-Trucks’ Cost Efficiency Could Win Over Freight Operators. According to Automotive World, “European trucking is on-course for a significant electrification transformation. According to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, the electric trucking industry was worth US$286.87m in 2021. By 2027, that figure is expected to reach US$4.36bn—a CAGR of 57.13%. One OEM in particular, Scania, is eager for this prediction to become a reality. ‘We want to make the electrification journey as swift as possible,’ says Fredrik Allard, Senior Vice President and Head of e-Mobility. ‘Our plan is to completely electrify our platform. Within three years, it will be possible to buy 90% of Scania’s vehicles as an electric option.’ The change, he emphasises to Automotive World, is happening now.” [Automotive World, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

States & Local

 

Environmentalists Say NJ Transit’s Plan To Add 550 Diesel Buses Will Make Air Pollution Worse In Cities. According to NJ.com, “A proposed purchase of 550 new buses could be the last run for diesel buses on NJ Transit. But advocates for people living in cities with high levels of air pollution and respiratory diseases say that purchase shouldn’t happen. Environmental justice advocates interviewed by NJ Advance Media said they’d rather see the agency purchase electric buses. A request for proposals from bus manufacturers was issued by NJ Transit to replace the oldest buses in the massive fleet of transit and suburban style buses built by North American Bus Industries over the past decade. NJ Transit’s proposal calls for 550 ‘clean diesel’ buses that officials say adhere to the Tier 4 federal emissions standards, the strictest EPA emissions requirements. ‘This is a bad idea,’ said Melissa Miles, executive director of New Jersey Environmental Justice Alliance. ‘At its worst, these buses will be in the fleet for years taking spaces that should be for electric buses.’ The purchase and the phrase ‘clean diesel’ are being challenged by environmental justice advocates, who said NJ Transit should deploy to urban areas the 100 electric buses to be purchased as part of its strategic plan. That’s where residents have been disproportionally burdened by air pollution that causes respiratory diseases. ‘The term clean diesel is a complete misnomer. There is no such thing. Burning clean diesel still means that these new buses will produce tailpipe emissions and particulate matter,’ said Jaqi Cohen, the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s director of climate and equity policy. ‘Burning clean diesel (fuel) still has a negative impact on our communities’ health and our climate.’” [NJ.com, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

International

 

Shell Quietly Pulls The Plug On Hydrogen In The UK. According to Electrive, “Shell has closed down all its hydrogen filling stations in the UK, saying ‘prototype tech had reached its end of life’. However, this is just a small part of the story since the oil and gas corporation now wants to refocus – on bigger vehicles. Instead of waiting for the very few fuel cell cars to come and refill, Shell wants to explore opportunities to build ‘multi-modal hubs for heavy-duty trucks’ in the UK. In other words, the refuelling stations have not been profitable for the few hydrogen cars. According to operator Motive, the sites are too small to upgrade for larger vehicles and future technologies. According to Hydrogen Insight, only eleven public H2 refuelling stations now remain open in the UK compared to more than 57,000 public charging points for electric vehicles. Shell had H2 facilities at Gatwick Airport, Cobham and Beaconsfield under operator, Motive, owned by UK electrolyser maker ITM Power. The corporation had received funding through the European Fuel Cell Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (now known as the Clean Hydrogen Partnership) and the UK Office of Low Emission Vehicles (now called the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles) for all three stations.” [Electrive, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

Vicinity Receives Major Order For Class 3 Electric Truck. According to Electrive, “Ties between Canadian commercial EV maker Vicinity and distributor Pioneer Auton Group are tightening. Pioneer placed an order for 1,000 Class 3 electric trucks, with deliveries expected to commence this month. These are in addition to existing orders worth millions to Vicinity. In today’s communications, Vicinity refers to Pioneer Auto Group as their ‘exclusive dealer’ in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The companies started dealing with each other in late 2021 when Pioneer reportedly intended to buy up to 100 Vicinity electric trucks. Fast-forward a year, and Pioneer expects Vicinity to deliver 1,000 VCM 1200 throughout 2023. The company has started building the Class 3 truck and is about to shift to a new factory in Ferndale, Washington, with 10,000 units annual capacity. William Trainer, the Vicinity CEO, said they had ‘increased our credit facilities to accommodate this order, and I am confident in our ability to fulfil this PO on schedule in 2023’. ‘We continue to see intense customer demand for class 3 commercial EVs, a segment that was largely unfilled prior to the arrival of the VMC 1200,’ Ray Van Empel of Pioneer Auto Group added. ‘This purchase order is a clear sign of our confidence not only in our sales capabilities at Pioneer Auto Group but in the superiority of Vicinity’s product.’ Referring to incentives, he also called the EV a ‘no-brainer’ from a financial perspective.” [Electrive, 10/18/22 (=)]

 

 

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