NACFE releases report on electric terminal tractors
By Bradley Osborne - 4th April 2022
USA – The North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has reported the results from trials of electric terminal tractors, finding that the technology in battery-electric variants currently on the market is “mature enough for fleets to be making investments” in them.
The results have come out of the ‘Run on Less – Electric’ demonstration which trialled zero-emission terminal tractors manufactured by Kalmar USA Inc of Ottawa, Kansas, Orange EV of Riverside, Missouri, and Lonestar Specialty Vehicles of Texarkana, Texas. NACFE found that the maintenance costs for electric terminal tractors are dramatically lower, in the order of 60% to 75%. Drivers commented positively on their quieter operation and improved performance over their diesel equivalents. NACFE noted, however, that the payback on the initial capital investment is high, taking up to 8 years before it is made back through cost savings.
