Zero-Emission Trucks, Buses, Off-road Equipment on Track for 78 Percent Rise in Models in 2020 – Model Numbers Expected to Double by 2023

Range grows across zero-emission commercial vehicle types

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Roxanna Smith, [email protected]
510.326.0390

PASADENA, Calif. – The number of available and announced models of zero-emission trucks, buses and off-road equipment in the United States and Canada is on track to rise nearly 78 percent by the end of 2020 compared to year-end 2019 – and that figure is expected to more than double by 2023. By the end of 2020, there will be 169 different zero-emission (ZE) medium- and heavy-duty vehicle models in commercial production compared to 95 models in 2019. That figure is expected to increase to 195 models by 2023 (full findings here).

These figures come from the Zero-Emission Technology Inventory (ZETI), a product of CALSTART’s Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero program (Drive to Zero). Launched in March of 2020, ZETI is an interactive online tool that tracks the growth of the ZE commercial vehicles globally, as measured by model availability.

“The 2020 growth curve can be tracked to a number of factors – the biggest one being demand,” said Dr. Cristiano Façanha, Drive to Zero’s Global Director. “Local, regional and state governments as well as corporate innovators have set strong commitments for fleet electrification and manufacturers want to supply the vehicles they require.”

“UPS strongly supports sustainable, zero-emission vehicles being available for purchase and deployment,” said Scott Phillippi, senior director of maintenance and engineering, International Operations, UPS. “With roughly 1,000 electric/hybrid electric vehicles already operating in cities around the world, UPS expects to continue to help lead the charge on the electrification of commercial vehicles over the next five years. There’s a need for more zero-emission vehicles, it’s the right thing to do for the planet, and it also has the potential to make good business sense.”

“By signing The Climate Groups EV100 initiative, we’ve committed to push the transformation of the vehicle infrastructure from combustion engine vehicles to electrical vehicles. By 2025 we will have electrified our fleet of vehicles used for last mile deliveries and expanded charging infrastructure for electrical vehicles at our sites. With collaboration and innovative practices we can deliver on our commitments to our customers,” said Steven Moelk, Project Implementation Manager, Zero Emission Delivery, at IKEA Retail U.S.

Additional new data from ZETI shows that ZE commercial models across nearly all vehicle types currently demonstrate driving range capabilities commensurate with user needs, and that longer ranges – including extreme ranges – are coming in the next two-to-three years.

“We are already seeing a healthy number of zero-emission transit and school buses rated for at least 100 miles, and the zero-emission trucks currently on the market offer similar ranges,” said Ben Mandel, CALSTART’s Northeast Regional Director who leads the ZETI team. “In the coming two-to-three years, we expect to see a growing number of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the 200-mile or greater range, with a few extra long-distance models greater than 600 miles by 2023.”

“Having sold well over 60,000 all-electric commercial vehicles worldwide, BYD is pleased to see CALSTART taking the lead in publicizing the breadth of medium and heavy duty electric vehicles currently available for sale in the US and across the globe,” said Stella Li,  President, BYD Motors, Inc. “Electrifying commercial vehicles will continue to play a critical role in reducing the climate change and air quality impacts of the transportation sector; BYD is proud to support and partner with CALSTART in working towards that goal.”

In addition to the new data from ZETI, today CALSTART’s Drive to Zero program is releasing an updated version of its Policies and Actions Toolkit. The Toolkit, unveiled in 2019 at the Tenth Clean Energy Ministerial and Fourth Mission Innovation Ministerial in Vancouver, is a portfolio of the key policies, incentives and investments governments and industry can take to spur faster near- and zero-emission commercial vehicle deployment. Since its inception, the Toolkit has grown by roughly 50 percent, adding new policies, actions and categories of drivers for ZE commercial vehicles.

“Policies that reduce emissions while also providing incentives to fleets drive adoption of the most forward-looking, cost-effective technologies,” said Façanha.

ZETI and the Policies and Actions Toolkit are among the first set of tools developed by CALSTART’s Drive to Zero program. Drive to Zero unites key regions of change, along with leading manufacturers and fleet users, to collaboratively speed development and adoption through policies, financial incentives, infrastructure investments and pilot projects that support early market success and create conditions for organic growth.

Drive to Zero’s goal is to make ZE commercial vehicles commercially viable by 2025 and dominant by 2040 in specific vehicle segments and regions through a strategy, the Beachhead Strategy, designed to catalyze the ZE commercial vehicle segment (learn more about the Beachhead Strategy here).

Industry leaders such as (but not limited to) BYD Motors, the Ingka Group (IKEA’s parent company), Nikola Motors, Siemens, The Lion Electric Co., New Flyer Industries, Southern California Edison, Ryder, and governments like the nation of Canada, Region Vestra Goteland in Sweden, the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Vancouver, Oslo, and Sacramento have agreed to work collaboratively to achieve Drive to Zero’s goal to drive market viability for the ZE commercial vehicle sector in key applications and regions by 2025 and achieve full market penetration by 2040. A full list of Drive to Zero pledge signatories can be found here.

Recent corporate commitments to and investments in ZE vehicles include:

  • UPS announces investment in EV startup Arrival while also ordering 10,000 EV delivery vans for use in North America and Europe. Hyundai and Kia also announce €100 million investment in the UK-based startup Arrival.
  • FedEx will purchase 1,000 all-electric delivery vans from manufacturer Chanje.
  • Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Michigan-based startup Rivian. 
  • IKEA has committed to all electric home deliveries worldwide by 2025, and by the end of 2020 in New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Amsterdam, and Shanghai.

“Covid-19 has brought into sharp focus just how critical our e-commerce, shipping and transportation industries and the vehicles that power them are to our worldwide economy, our health and our daily lives,” said Bill Van Amburg, Executive Vice President of clean transportation accelerator CALSTART. “Now as we recover from these unprecedented challenges, we must embrace the immediate opportunity to transform transport with the clean technologies becoming available, and strongly support the innovators ready to build, buy and use them.”

Follow our new Twitter handle – @TeamDriveToZero – to track new ZE commercial vehicle data and trends and receive program updates from Drive to Zero.