ACT Research’s 68th seminar, Driving Decarbonization: The Future of Commercial Vehicles, welcomed transportation industry professionals like Brent Yeagy, president and CEO of Wabash, to continue the discussion on decarbonization and how it is reshaping the industry.
“We are in the most dynamic period of change in logistics within our lifetime,” Yeagy said. “Those who can be truly visionary and help accelerate change are best positioned for the future.”
Companies like Lion Electric and Xos are targeting segments of the market most conducive to electrification.
“The school bus is the ideal electrification starting point,” Sydney Dunn and Dominick Beckman of Lion Electric, said, as school busese have predictable, shorter routes and return to the same base.
Michael Lukas, Xos’ director of strategy, said last and regional mile and back-to-base fleets are also ideal for electrification because of their range (average local trucks drive fewer than 50 miles per day), charging (public charging is unnecessary when trucks return to the same depot) and total cost of ownership (less maintenance and fewer moving parts).
“Rising fleet inefficiency is impacting the adoption rate of electric vehicles in Classes 3-8,” Yeagy said.
Potential solutions on the rise are a power-only logistics model, increased trailer-tractor ratio (drop and hook) and Wabash’s trailers as a service (TaaS) offering.
