In the ever-evolving landscape of the trucking industry, businesses are increasingly looking towards sustainable solutions that not only benefit the environment but also prove economically viable in the long run. One such avenue gaining momentum is the adoption of electric trucks. At C&M Motors, a trusted Hino, SEA, and REE Electric Dealer serving the greater San Diego area, we understand the importance of making informed decisions for your fleet. In this article, we’ll explore how the total cost of ownership (TCO) compares between electric trucks and traditional diesel trucks, empowering businesses to chart a course towards efficiency and savings.
Understanding Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
Total Cost of Ownership encompasses more than just the initial purchase price. It factors in various elements such as fuel costs, maintenance expenses, resale value, and the lifespan of the vehicle. By delving into these components, businesses can make comprehensive and forward-thinking decisions for their fleets.
Upfront Costs
One of the primary considerations for businesses is the initial investment required. Electric trucks traditionally have higher upfront costs than their diesel counterparts. However, it’s crucial to consider available government incentives, tax credits, and financing options that can significantly offset these initial expenses. At C&M Motors, we work with businesses to explore these opportunities, ensuring a smoother transition to electric fleets.
Fuel Costs
Electric trucks boast lower fuel costs, providing a significant advantage in the TCO analysis. With the price stability of electricity compared to fluctuating diesel prices, businesses can better predict and manage their operating expenses. Additionally, California’s commitment to renewable energy sources further enhances the environmental and financial benefits of electric truck ownership.
Maintenance Expenses
Electric trucks generally have fewer moving parts than diesel trucks, translating to lower maintenance costs. With fewer components subject to wear and tear, businesses can expect reduced downtime and more predictable maintenance schedules. At C&M Motors, our service support network is equipped to handle the unique maintenance requirements of electric trucks, ensuring optimal performance and longevity.
Resale Value and Depreciation
While electric trucks historically faced challenges in resale value, advancements in technology and increasing demand have mitigated this concern. Understanding the expected depreciation rates and considering the potential for enhanced resale value over time is crucial in the TCO analysis.
Lifespan and Long-Term Savings
Electric trucks are designed for longevity, often outlasting traditional diesel trucks. Businesses benefit from extended vehicle lifespan and reduced long-term expenses, contributing to substantial savings over the operational lifetime of the vehicle.
Experience the Future with C&M Motors
As a leading Hino, SEA, and REE Electric Dealer in San Diego, C&M Motors is committed to helping businesses navigate the transition to electric fleets. We offer demo electric trucks for test drives, allowing customers to experience the innovation and efficiency firsthand.
Contact Us Today
To explore the potential of electric trucks for your fleet and secure your spot for a test drive, contact C&M Motors, NationaLease of San Diego, at 800.736.3443 or fill out a contact form online. Let us be your trusted partner in embracing the future of sustainable and cost-effective transportation solutions. Together, we can drive towards a greener and more economical tomorrow.
What You Need to Know About Electric Box Truck Batteries
With the rising popularity of electric box trucks for many industries, lots of people considering the switch may wonder how long the battery lasts. While it depends on the manufacturer and age, typically, new batteries match or even outlast the lifespan of the drivetrain parts in traditional gas-operated trucks.
This article goes over the basics of electric box truck batteries, including their lifespan and tips on how to extend them.
About Electric Box Truck Batteries
Electric box trucks use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, known for their higher energy density compared to lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries. This density results in more power per unit size, making them optimal for electric trucks. As electric box trucks solely rely on batteries, they are simpler and a more efficient choice. With a 97% decrease in lithium-ion battery costs over 30 years, experts anticipate these trucks becoming a more affordable option.
Electric Truck Battery Lifespan
The lifespan of your electric box truck battery depends on several factors. The good news about electric batteries in California is that the government requires electric box truck makers to guarantee their batteries for 8 years or 100,000 miles, and the state adds 2 more years and 50,000 more miles to that warranty.
As electric truck batteries get cheaper to produce, they also get bigger and more powerful, which means they can travel farther on a single charge. Moreover, the advanced technology slows down the wear and tear of the batteries, so they can keep most of their original capacity for longer. Even if the batteries lose some of their capacity over time, they will still have a longer range than older batteries.
Electric Box Truck Battery Degradation
Electric truck batteries degrade over time due to factors like temperature, cycling, and age. Temperature, both during storage and operation, significantly influences battery longevity, with warmer climates often shortening lifespan. Additionally, charge cycles, where the battery is discharged and recharged, gradually reduce its maximum capacity. Unlike phone or laptop batteries, truck batteries employ Battery Management Systems (BMS) to regulate charging and discharging, mitigating degradation. This means that temperature and calendar degradation are the primary concerns for electric box truck battery longevity.
Tips for Extending Electric Box Truck Battery Life
EV batteries are built to last, but certain steps can be taken to extend their battery life even more.
Keep Your Electric Box Truck Cool
As with most batteries, truck batteries last longer when they are kept cool with liquid cooling systems. To preserve the battery life of your truck, avoid extreme heat and cold when using and storing your EV.
Adhere to Manufacturer Recommendations
The first step to extend your electric box truck battery life is to follow the instructions from the truck manufacturer and update your software regularly. Different trucks have different types of batteries and cooling systems, meaning they hold unique charging and operating instructions.
Ask for More Information on Electric Box Trucks
Inquire at C&M Motors about electric box trucks and their battery lifespans with an expert electric truck dealer today.
In this excellent article by Casey Crownhart, you can readily understand the need for electrification of the trucking industry. While only 10% of all motor vehicles are trucks and buses, they produce half of the carbon dioxide emissions and more than 70% of the particulate pollution.
It is vital that we curb this, but we need to understand if our infrastructure can handle the swing to electric commercial vehicles.
Can the Grid Accommodate the Charging?
Unlike electric cars, commercial trucks and buses have much larger power requirements. Would fleets of electric trucks outstrip a substation’s capacity and cause outages?
In this article, Crownhart discusses the modeling that was done using real-world fleet data. The results were an amazing 80-90% of the substations are capable of handling this load without upgrades.
California is Leading the Charge
California passed regulation in June of 2020 requiring heavy duty trucks sold by 2035 to be zero-emission. Just a month later, 15 states signed similar rules requiring trucks to be zero-emission by 2050. Clearly, we are headed in this direction and any infrastructure changes that need to be made to keep up with demand, will be dealt with along the way.
If you need some planning assistance, call C&M Motors. We are a locally owned and operated family business serving the greater San Diego area since 1982. With 2 locations and multiple options for electric trucks, we will offer you professional choices and recommendations, in addition to a more personalized experience. Sales, service, rentals, maintenance, collision, fabrication, parts, and 24/7 emergency roadside assistance are all available at C&M Motors.
While most businesses focus on reducing costs and increasing profits, let’s take a little closer look at the challenges faced by business owners running a small fleet of commercial vehicles.
Reducing Costs
For those business owners, reducing costs can be tackled several ways. Costs can arise from rising fuel costs, fines due to lack of compliance with Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and accidents. Fleet scheduling efficiencies which include right sizing your fleet to meet the demands of your clients is a way to avoid some of these costs.
Fuel Costs
Fuel cost began a fairly sharp rise in around 2004, where the average price of fuel was just over $1.50 per gallon. That climb topped in the summer of 2008 where fuel was over $4.10 per gallon. By the end of 2009, the fuel prices dropped back to just over $1.70 per gallon where they began yet another climb to nearly $4.00 per gallon again. In the past couple years, prices have fluctuated from $2 to $3 per gallon on average, nationwide, all formulations of retail gasoline and diesel.
Planning for those prices changes is a challenge and the costs vary depending upon the number of commercial trucks in your fleet. The good news is that powerful, electric technology is helping to minimize and/or eliminate the need for diesel powered trucks.
That’s why C&M Motors has partnered with SEA Electric to help you overcome the unpredictable costs of fuel. These exciting new electric trucks will deliver power and efficiency, and even help reduce maintenance costs. Overall, the cost of ownership is well worth the investment.
Accidents
Accidents involving your fleet drivers can be a huge expense to your business. These expenses come not just from the costs of truck repair, but also in loss of productivity, damage and worker comp claims, insurance increases, and potential lawsuits. Equipping your fleet with the latest safety equipment such as automatic braking, backup cameras, and telematics are a great way to reduce these risks.
Right Sizing and Maintaining Your Fleet Vehicles
Another way to keep costs in line is through good fleet management and having a fleet that keeps your committed deliveries on time without having too many idle vehicles. Another important aspect is vehicle maintenance. When your fleet is well-maintained, there are less unexpected failures and the need for extra trucks is minimized. Having a good partner for fleet maintenance can help you run a profitable operation. C&M Motors offers HinoCare, a planned maintenance program to help you stay on schedule and on budget.
Why C&M Motors
C&M Motors is a locally owned and operated family business serving the greater San Diego area since 1982. With 2 locations to serve you (National City and Vista), we offer a more personalized experience and customized services to meet your business needs. Sales, service, rentals, maintenance, collision, fabrication, parts, and 24/7 emergency roadside assistance are all available at C&M Motors.
Electric trucks provide reduction in greenhouse gas emissions which is especially beneficial in an urban setting. In fact, electric trucks have been shown to cut greenhouse gas emissions by a third or more over diesel trucks.
Other Benefits Electric Trucks Offer
Less Noise.
While this seems obvious, why is this a benefit? Lack of noise means they can operate at times when a diesel truck cannot. This can provide a significant benefit to businesses operating in congested urban areas with evening noise restrictions.
Regenerative Braking
An electric truck has a highly efficient drivetrain and offers energy recovery during braking. When measured together, the regenerative braking and super-efficient drivetrain can lead to about five times higher efficiency for an electric truck.
Alternate Energy Sources
If you drive a diesel truck, there is only one way to fuel your truck. Diesel. If you invest in an electric truck, you have more options. You can charge your electric battery with standard plugin, paid-for electricity OR you can invest in solar for your company which would significantly drive down the cost of operations for your fleet.
Why SEA Electric and C&M Motors
SEA Electric was founded in Australia in 2012 and has been providing outstanding automotive technology for many years. In 2017, SEA Electric launched its first all-electric power-system that can be added to the truck chassis of your choice. These electric engines are the world’s most cost-effective solution for the commercial market. Zero emissions, super quiet, and a powerful, smooth ride.
C&M Motors is a locally owned and operated family business serving the greater San Diego area since 1982. With 2 locations to serve you (National City and Vista), we offer a more personalized experience and customized services to meet your business needs. Sales, service, rentals, maintenance, collision, fabrication, parts, and 24/7 emergency roadside assistance are all available at C&M Motors.
Commercial truck fleets are beginning to embrace the benefits of electric trucks. While initial costs may be slightly higher, these vehicles generate significant savings in a very short period of time.
Reduced Fuel Costs
The most obvious benefit is the reduction in fuel costs. The cost to run an electric plug-in vehicle or even a hybrid is substantially lower than fueling a diesel engine. Larger businesses that choose to invest in solar can compound their savings by generating some of their electric power by placing panels on their roof.
In addition to going green and helping to reduce the carbon footprint, companies are embracing solar and transitioning to renewable forms of energy.
Reduced Maintenance Costs
The electric drivetrain is functionally simpler than the conventional drivetrain. The electric motor is the major moving part and does not require fluid replacements and other parts that tend to break down in a combustion engine. Even features like regenerative braking, reduce wear and tear on basic vehicle components bringing the maintenance costs down 50% or more for electric or hybrid trucks.
CARB compliance
The electric or hybrid truck also supports the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission truck Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). The Fiscal 2020-21 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives was approved on December 10, 2020. The plan allocates $25 million from the Air Quality Improvement Program (AQIP) to HVIP. Details for the Fiscal Year 2020-21 are still being finalized but the funding is approved. The best approach is to work with an HVIP approved dealer, like C&M Motors, to be sure your planned purchases meet the criteria for the voucher program.
Why C&M Motors
C&M Motors is a locally owned and operated family business serving the greater San Diego area since 1982. With 2 locations to serve you (National City and Vista), we offer a more personalized experience and customized services to meet your business needs. Sales, service, rentals, maintenance, collision, fabrication, parts, and 24/7 emergency roadside assistance are all available at C&M Motors.
Let us help you get started or increase your electric footprint. Give us a call to learn more.
