What is an electric vehicle? Why are they a good option? Are they the future?

What is an electric vehicle/truck?

The electric automobile is a motor vehicle powered by rechargeable batteries rather than fossil fuels. Petrol and diesel are fossil fuels.

Why electric trucks?

Electric vehicles are more energy efficient and have a lower environmental impact. The environmental impact of an electric truck is very low when the truck is in use, in fact they produce zero emissions on the road and are very very very quiet. They are so quiet, manufacturers have to add sounds to the vehicles to ensure pedestrians and cyclists can hear them. EVs are energy efficient. They convert more than 77% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels. Conventional diesel or petrol vehicles only convert about 12%–30% of the energy stored in fossil fuel to power at the wheels.

Electric Trucks Down Under:

The eCanter, an electric truck from FUSO, is the world’s first series-produced, fully electric light truck that is available in the New Zealand market. It is ideal for inner-city deliveries.

There are many manufacturers developing and road-testing battery- electric, heavy-duty electric trucks such as the eActros from Mercedes-Benz and eCascadia from Freightliner, so expect to see more electric trucks on Australian and New Zealand roads in the not-to- distanced future!