An electric truck is a truck powered by electricity.
For information on trucks using a combination of internal combustion engines and electric propulsion, see Hybrid electric truck.
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The Port of Los Angeles and South Coast Air Quality Management District have demonstrated a short-range heavy-duty all electric truck capable of hauling a fully loaded 40-foot (12 m) cargo container. The current design is capable of pulling a 60,000 lb (27 t) cargo container at speeds up to 10 mph (16 km/h) and has a range of between 30 and 60 miles (48 and 97 km). It uses 2 kilowatt-hours per mile (1.2 kW·h/km; 4.5 MJ/km), compared to 5 miles per US gallon (47 L/100 km; 6.0 mpg-imp) for the hostler semi tractors it replaces.[1]
Electric tractors have been built since the 1990s.[2][3][4]
A common example of the battery electric trucks is the milk float. Since it makes many stops in delivering milk it is more practical to use an electric vehicle than a combustion truck, which would be idling much of the time; it also reduces noise in residential areas. For most of the 20th century, the majority of the world's battery electric road vehicles were British milk floats.[5]
With a similar driving pattern of a delivery vehicle like the milk float above, garbage trucks are excellent candidates for electric drive. Most of their time is spent stopping, starting or idling. These activities are where internal combustion engines are their least efficient. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, 3,000 of the internal combustion engine garbage trucks in Beijing were replaced with lithium ion polymer battery pack electric drive trucks.[6] The batteries were procured for about $3,300 each.[7]. In France, some all-electric garbage trucks produced by Power Vehicle Innovation are operating since 2011 in the city of Courbevoie, the first local authorities in France to acquired some.[8]
In 2011, GGT Electric, an automotive engineering, design and manufacturing company[9] based in Milford, Michigan, introduced a new line of all electric trucks for sale. GGT has developed LSV zero-emission electric vehicles for fleet markets, municipalities, universities, and state and federal government. The company offers 4-door electric pick-up trucks[10], electric passenger vans, and flatbed electric trucks with tilt and dump capability.[11]