The Key to Slashing Transportation Emissions: Electrifying Heavy Vehicles
While electric cars are the more common sight, marking tremendous progress toward zero transportation emissions, there is another significant battle being waged by the giants of the road: medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs). Despite representing just 10% of vehicles, MHDVs contributed 26% of on-road transportation greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, as reported by the EPA. One tough step looms in decarbonizing transportation: electrifying these MHDVs.
Why MHDVs Are Critical to Decarbonization
MHDVs include Class 7 and 8 trucks, which are the heaviest trucks on the road. Dominating high-mileage, high-fuel-use operations, their electrification would impact:
Urban logistics: Delivery trucks and waste disposal vehicles
Public transit: School and city buses
Industrial operations: Construction vehicles and freight trucks
They account for less than a fifth of all trucks but more than 62% of energy use. As a result, heavy-duty class 7 and 8 vehicles release emissions at a higher rate than smaller trucks. Electrifying them will cut emissions efficiently. Accordingly, large cities are enforcing policies, like California, that mandate 50% of new heavy-duty truck sales to be electric by 2035, with six states following suit.
Progress Meets Roadblocks
Especially in heavier-duty trucks, there exist cost barriers as one class 8 electric costs several hundred thousand dollars, so federal tax credits can only cover 10% of the price due to their caps. Electric 18-wheelers also have high charging demands. Fleet depots need reliable, high-capacity charging to support their daily operations. The chargers must be so because breakdowns aren’t an option for MHDV fleets running tight schedules on industrial rigor.
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Infrastructure experts can deliver solutions built for scale and reliability, with charging solutions that possess future-ready efficiency and industry-proven durability, such as the chargers by viveEV—weather-resistant designs with 99.8% uptime from 20+ years of industrial experience.
The electrification of MHDVs is a transformation already underway. Cities, states, and forward-thinking fleets are tackling the challenges needed for future sustainability, but the success is reliant on reliable infrastructure that keeps pace with ambition. The question isn’t if MHDVs will go electric—it’s how quickly operations can adapt.
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