Old habits die hard. Going electric constitutes a cultural challenge. But governments, businesses and citizens alike increasingly see moral obligation or economic value in converting to electric. Technological progress, increasing adoption and generous incentives have tipped the balance beyond economic break-even.
It’s already a new era.
RMI and The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) conduct annual field testing EV performance in real operating scenarios on-road. It’s called Run on Less and the report is published every June.
The 2021 report focused on four key segments that are electrifying today:
Class 3-5 vans
Class 6 box trucks
Class 8 tractors
Class 8 regional haul
Because of the massive increase in online shopping, “these medium and heavy-duty trucks are the now the fastest-growing contributor to emissions in North America.”
Since 1990, this segment has increased emissions by 93%, while passenger cars have increased just 19% comparatively.
Partnering with 13 fleet participants, including major carriers like Frito-Lay, Penske, Ryder and DHL, the study found that if every truck in these four segments alone were converted to an electric ecosystem, the impact would be substantial.
Converting this fleet to electric would save well over 100 million metric tons of emissions from polluting the air we breathe - every single year.
That’s a big number. What exactly does that mean on a human scale? See the infographic to the right for a more tangible representation.
