Mitsubishi Fuso announces UPS as first commercial partner for eCanter electric truck
As Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp., a part of Daimler Trucks, celebrated the global launch of the Fuso eCanter, Fuso announced its first U.S. commercial partner for the eCanter: UPS will use the zero-emission trucks with an eye to moving their fleet toward being more sustainable. “At UPS, we constantly evaluate and deploy advanced
The truth about biodiesel
My latest rant is the result of reading that Minnesota is going to require B20 biodiesel fuel usage in all diesel engines. Please, don’t misunderstand me: I’m all for biodiesel as an alternate diesel fuel. However, the EPA, environmental activists and “Big Ag” often don’t let the truth get in the way of their mission.
Chanje, newly formed trucking company, announces plans for all-electric truck
Chanje, a newly formed California-based commercial electric vehicle and energy solutions company, has announced plans to introduce a medium-duty all-electric truck available at mass scale in the U.S. market. This initial medium-duty vehicle already has volume orders and will be delivered later this year, the company said. The new company will be led by Chief Executive
Cummins reveals fully electric Class 7 truck, provides update on diesel engines
During an event at its technical center in Columbus, Ind., Cummins Inc. unveiled a fully electric Class 7 demonstration Urban Hauler Tractor, dubbed the Aeos (a reference to one of the four winged horses driving Greek mythology’s sun god across the sky). The truck includes a battery pack offering with a charge time of one
Getting started with biodiesel fuel
Once fleets hear the economic, performance and emissions benefits of biodiesel, it often becomes clear to them why they should give the renewable fuel a try. What’s uncertain for them is how they can get started. It’s a conversation I’ve had many times. For those of you interested in biodiesel, here are three questions you
The reality of electric commercial vehicle use
I recently came across two articles that I found staggering. The first asserted that France wants to quit selling gasoline and diesel fuel by 2040 (Britain made a similar announcement a few weeks later). The second detailed Volvo’s announcement that it will equip every car it sells with an electric motor starting in 2019. Since California
Mitsubishi Fuso begins production of eCanter all-electric truck
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. has announced the start of production of its all‑electric Class 4 truck, the Fuso eCanter. The first eCanter trucks will be delivered to customer in the coming months, the company said. The eCanter is a Class 4 truck with a 15,995 lb. GVWR and a payload capacity of roughly 9,380 lb.
Lightning striking: Electrification is coming, but where will it be put to work?
Consider the July magazine Fleet Equipment‘s unofficial electrification issue. Four out of six editors agree—there’s something electric crackling in the air. Alex Crissey reviews electrification in refuse applications; Seth Skydel hooks you up with electric power takeoff technology; John Martin name-drops UPS experimenting with fuel cell technology; and for my part, I caught up with
The future of electrification
Knowing that the current low prices of diesel won’t last forever, cost-conscious fleets in medium-duty segments are starting to look toward alternative sources of fuel for the future. This year, there have been several big announcements involving electric trucks, including Mitsubishi Fuso bringing a limited-production line of fully electric trucks, known as the eCanter, to
Debating the merits of ethanol
I just returned from the National Hot Rod Reunion in Bowling Green, Ky. To get there, I traveled through some of the most fertile soil in America: The Mississippi River bottom in the Missouri “boot heel.” This land used to be planted in cotton as far as the eye could see. But we lost the
Adding it up: The benefits of fleet electrification
A longtime innovator in the adoption of alternative fuel technologies into its fleet of nearly 14,000 vehicles, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is also leading the charge when it comes to fleet electrification. The natural gas and electric utility company, based in San Francisco and serving nearly 16 million people in Northern and Central
Motiv Power Systems brings the country’s second all-electric refuse truck to Sacramento
The city of Sacramento has ordered an all-electric automated left-side loader garbage truck powered by Motiv Power Systems’ scalable and modular All-Electric Powertrain. The Electric Refuse Vehicle (ERV) will be built on a Crane Carrier chassis, and the body will be built by Loadmaster. The city of Sacramento aims to run the ERV on residential and
