“You see more [electric cars] on the road than you’ve ever seen before, and you don’t see a lot of them parked on the side of the road,” said Cole Smith, president and chief executive, Truck King. It’s a refreshing take on the range anxiety-inducing electric truck conversation, especially since the company just took delivery of two Peterbilt Model 579EV day cabs from Peterbilt Motors Co. and PACCAR Leasing Co. (PacLease) and is putting them through their paces.
“This is a new exploration for us,” Smith explained. Truck King operates 65 trucks in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex hauling components used in manufacturing for local companies, and Smith noted the price of diesel and the growing wave of electric vehicles that pushed his interest toward the battery electric Peterbilt Class 8 trucks.
The Peterbilt Model 579EV offers a gross combined weight rating of 82,000 lbs. and continuous and peak power ratings at 536 HP and 670 HP, respectively. The battery capacity is 400 kWh with an estimated daily range of 150 miles. The OEM noted that the 579EV is aimed at short-haul and drayage applications. In Smith’s case, that means a route that’s approximately 92 miles round trip.
How he accomplishes that, where he expects electric truck usage to go and how he leans on his relationship with Peterbilt are all answers that we talked through in a recent interview along with Patrick Wallace, segment marketing manager, Peterbilt. Watch the video above for all of their electric truck insight.
Peterbilt Model 579EV walk around
Take a look back at when we caught up with Wallace for a walk around the Peterbilt Model 579EV to talk through its specs.
No script? No plan? No problem. Welcome to Fleet Equipment Unscripted—the video interview series that connects you with the greatest minds in the heavy-duty trucking world. Fleet Equipment Unscripted is sponsored by Hendrickson.
