There’s a war going on in truck technology. Diesel trucks have reigned supreme, but new technologies are emerging that could challenge their dominance. Hydrogen fuel cell trucks, electric trucks, natural gas trucks, and hybrid trucks are currently derided by many in the industry as far-fetched and a long way off. But according to the CEO of Daimler Trucks North America, diesel trucks will be going the way of the dodo – and sooner than people think.
Daimler CEO Roger Nielson spoke at the ACT Expo this past week and told a crowd gathered there that Daimler is already planning how they will transition to fully electric vehicles.
Daimler is so confident that electric trucks are coming – and soon – that they’re converting an existing Freightliner factory in Portland in order to be able to manufacture electric trucks. The company says they’ll be ready to begin production there by 2021.
While Nielson acknowledged the work going in to hydrogen fuel cells, hybrid trucks, and natural gas engines, he said that they would be temporary solutions at best. Nielson told attendees that “I believe the future is electric.”
Founded in 1896, Daimler is an old company. Diesel trucks have changed since then, but the energy revolution that many are predicting would make those changes insignificant compared to what’s ahead in just the next few decades. A host of startups developing alternative fuel trucks have popped up in the past few years, so Daimler may have been spurred into action to keep itself from becoming obsolete.
“We’re the old guy who is often accused of yelling epithets at the young startups who dare to cross our lawn,” Nielsen said during his address.
Daimler is the largest manufacturer of heavy trucks in the country. They claim that between their Freightliner and Western Star brands, Daimler trucks make up about half of all the trucks used at the top 100 largest carriers in the country. So if they’re right about the shift to battery-powered electric trucks, they are well positioned to keep their spot on top.
Though Nielson admits that there is no reason for “a sane and somber customer” to buy an electric truck right now, that’s just because the batteries needed to make it viable for business use are still far too expensive. But the company hopes to get “financial incentives” from the government to help develop the technology and offset some of the costs for consumers… and being a company as large as Daimler does tend to have its perks when it comes to lobbying for what you want.
Source: ttnews, daimler, oregonlive, greenbiz
Shogun says
Our company just bought a Honda gas generator to charge them up, we can’t wait. Tree Hugger Express is going to get cutting edge! Nothing can stop us!
PETE says
U can keep them they suck
Steel Horse and Wooden Mem says
Be retired and dreaming from the rocking chair on the porch when they get their act together…still waiting to go to Mars and have my car flying
Alex K says
Yeah right. Living and Running North East we don’t have enough spaces just to park for the night. Since Daimler Ceo is not driving big truck himself he might not know it. Where the heck he is going to find not just a parking space but the one With charging station for every truck with that electric engine ?
Ryan says
No kidding. Let’s just see how well those batteries hold up pulling a full 80 up some of these steep mountain passes. It’ll take years just to get every truckstop equipped for it. What a joke.
MrYowler says
Like propane cylinders, charging will probably be handled by swapping out low-charge batteries for ones that are fully charged, and charging them up outside of the truck. A lot of photovoltaic solar charging capacity could easily be constructed over existing and new parking capacity, giving both truckers and tree-huggers reason to support the concept, and it could also give rural windmill farms a base of consumers for their power production.
Of central concern, would be weight, bulk, cost, safety, and environmental impact of the electric propulsion and batteries, themselves… Charging stations don’t need to be colocated in parking spaces any more than fuel refining does, now – and trucks do not need to be immobilized for recharging, any more the average household “C” cell $3 flashlight.
Robert G says
giving both truckers and tree-huggers reason to support the concept
Speak for yourself. I can go farther on diesel than batteries
MrYowler says
Well, Robert… Of course, I *am* speaking for myself, but I have to point out that most train engine are diesel-electric hybrids, and they consume about half the fuel of their diesel-combustion predecessors. And in fact, how far you can go depends upon hoe much energy (fuel or electrical potential) you carry, not the form that it takes. Battery replacement can be done just as quickly as refueling, and either will extend your travel distance virtually indefinitely.
Listen, there are actual practical reasons to be dubious about electric trucks. Charging stations and travel distance are not among them. Pick on cost, weight, bulk, safety, and so forth, if you feel the need to hate on electric.
Robert G says
Mr Yowler. You are obviously not a driver. I can and do travel 1200 to 1600 miles between fuel stops. Giving me more flexibility in when and where I wish to fuel.
It is ingenuous to suggest that there will be no inconvenience.
Listen the weight of the proposed battery packs would be a bit more than that of a C cell battery. Said weight and bulk would require intensive infrastructure. Such as large garages with many bays and cranes or lift-motors. It would take a great deal of time to process the amount of demand.
So don’t blow smoke up my pipes
John Tyo says
Anyone who thinks the infrastructure for this tech will be built while oil is 60 a barrel is insane if oil is 120 a barrel it will still be fuel not charging that wins the profitability battle
John Garrison says
autonomous trucks don’t need truck stops. There will be wind mills generating power next to massive charging lots.
Tommy Molnar says
Nobody needs to worry about this stuff yet. Like Alex K says, where are we going to find plug-ins for this huge fleet of electric trucks? Gonna park by the library downtown in one of the two plug stations there? Sure. I think hydrogen fuel cells are a much better option (and possibility) than electric trucks. Solar panels and wind generators are NOT going to supply enough power for this stuff (not to mention the electric cars the ‘greenies’ are buying).
joe says
carry an extension cord park next to trucks running generators
just kidding
i can imagine diesel electric hybrids making it, something like caterpillars d7e dozer but then i have only seen one d7e cat attempting to work, an old d6d was doing about twice the work of the brand new d7, the operator said the d7 had been back to caterpillar several times but still had low power issues
Alex Knolls says
Remember how when Tesla introduced the electric car everyone was scoffing at how there were no places to charge it, and now you have Superchargers all over the place, and most Walmarts are installing charging stations?
Right now there are no electric trucks on the road commercially, so there are no chargers, but once they start being produced, the manufacturers and fleets who purchase them will begin installing chargers, and the infrastructure will grow rapidly to meet the demand.
And if Tesla does what I expect, more truck parking will be created specifically for electric trucks as part of the charging station design.
So in a few years, it may be easier to find parking in an electric truck than a diesel.
As far as power from solar and wind, there are already large Tesla Supercharger stations that have enough solar panels on site to provide the majority of the energy used, combined with Tesla battery banks to balance the demand, and while a truck charging station takes more power, it would still be easy to plan for it, especially if they are built on the edges of cities where there is open land available.
Basically get enough land for the solar panels needed, and make it all available for truck parking.
This would be perfect, because then the trucks could park in the shade from the solar panels, saving on power for a/c while they were charging.
It’s coming, as much as you scoff, it will happen lol
les_gvt says
“all over the place”- that is provided you are in a major large city perhaps. Doubt you will find it in Phillipsberg KS or Jal, NM- most likely not in Cairbous ME either
Shogun says
Never seen a Tesla charger that I can remember in the five states I run. Rarely see a Tesla, we seem to be hippie free.
ROBERT A WOFFORD says
Charger will go up in every loves, pilot, flying j, Petro, ta across the country.
Jeremy says
Rechargeable batteries don’t work in cold climates,not even moderately cold climates.In the winter time,contractors that work outside pack away their tools powered by batteries and centrally locate electrical panels on the job site mounted on temporary plywood/2 by four structures hardwired into the grid and break out power tools that use extension cords.Rechargeable batteries will not charge in cold temperatures and will only last a few minutes of use if pre-charged at home or at the shop.I could go on but it seems obvious you lack the capacity to see the big picture.
MrYowler says
Jeremy, you are referring to lead-acid batteries which rely upon a water-based electrolyte solution that can freeze in low temperatures. This issue has existed for decades in electric-start cars, and somehow we still get our kids to school and get ourselves ro work. One solution is to garage your car, a other is a battery heater. A trickle charger will usually heat the battery enough to keep it thawed, or a glass-matte gel battery solves this problem by changing the chemistry. My Prius similarly solves this problem with lithium-ion batteries, instead of lead-acid.
The trucks in our yard, last winter, had issues with diesel #2 gelling up in the fuel filters at -23 degrees. I drove the Prius to the yard to fix the issue. I’d say that it started right up, but the gas engine didn’t actually start until I was on my way back home. The battery was fully charged when I rolled out of the house.
Jude says
I believe that “open land” outside cities is called “farms” that produce food. If you cover farms with solar panel roofed truck parking, where will you get your next meal? How many windmills, already killing birds on that “open land”, will be taken down to make room for solar panels and truck parking? Will the cost actually ever be worth the benefit?
Tom says
I’ve also seen Teslas exploding in a parking lot. Now, imagine yourself in the sleeper if that happens…no thanks. I’ll probably be dust before any of this happens anyway.
MrYowler says
Existing solar panels generate about 10 watts per square foot in good sunlight. If we presume parking spaces 10 feet wide by 70 feet deep, that’s 7 kw (kilowatts). If we also presume an average of 6 good hours of daylight, that’s 42 kw/h (kilowatt hours).
I have a little Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, and it takes 6-8 hours to fully charge on a 110vac outlet. It draws about 8 amps of current, which works out to 880 watts, times about 7 hours, which is just over 6 kw/h. It will drive about 25 miles on this, before the gas engine kicks on. Battery charging involves some inherent inefficiency (some energy is lost in the form of heat), and a Prius is hard to compare to a loaded tractor-trailer – and I can’t swap out the batteries in my Prius… But at $3/watt for the 1000 watts of solar panels (plus about $2k for supporting electronics and rooftop mounting hardware), I can generate the electricity to drive 25 miles per day without paying for fuel, in about 100 square feet of rooftop space that is otherwise unused. Purchased from my power company, these same 6 kw/h cost about $0.50, each day – and generated by the gas engine, the 25 miles represent slightly under half a gallon of gasoline at my average of 57.4mpg.- or about $1.30 in gas, each day. My batteries can be expected to last about a thousand charge cycles, or 25,000 miles, with about a $5000 replacement cost, or about $0.20/mile. Even with free recharging, the cost of battery wear amounts to about three times the current cost of fuel-based hybrid operation. Traditional combustion operation would probably be less fuel efficient, equalizing the cost of operation to some extent – but the initial cost (and maintenance costs) of hybrid and electric vehicles is still much greater than that of their traditional combustion-propelled counterparts.
Solar charging is not an economic win, for me, and it probably won’t be for trucks, either – until either environmental tax incentives or environmental tax penalties come to bear (and I think we all know to expect at least some of the former, and a great deal of the latter, over the next decade or so). Electric operation is similarly not an economic win, for the moment, but can be expected to become more attractive as regulators push for reduced chemical emissions. If we started covering warehouses and big box retail stores with solar panels, in addition to parking lots, we could take a big bite out of the energy needed to support transportation – at considerable economic cost – and because we are probably talking about charging removable batteries, variable weather conditions are probably not a serious impediment. Wind power could fill some of the remaining need, with lower costs, and similar weather independence. The rest could be reliably and comparatively cheaply be covered with nuclear (if the tree-huggers ar dead-set against chemical emissions), or more traditional electrical power generation.
It ALL costs more than traditional combustion. Electric generators, transformers, batteries charging systems, and engine components are often made of toxic materials, or their manufacture produces toxic by-products. If we cannot (or lack the will to) produce enough environmentally clean (but probably economically expensive) electrical energy for transportation, then we will succeed only in shifting the production of pollution to centralized locations, at greatly increased cost. Any hazmat hazard posed by the materials involved, poses new environmental concerns. Finally, any increase to weight or size of the power unit results in a corresponding decrease in load capacity. This not only affects the profitability of the entire transportation business model, but it also geometrically impacts it’s energy efficiency, costs, traffic, and environmental impact.
I like my little electric car and supporting solar power system, for it’s novelty – but the Sahara desert will be a belt that encircles the globe from North Dakota to Paraguay, before it becomes economically practical.
Tommy says
What kind of battery weight are we talking about to power an 18 wheeler? 1000, 1500, 2000 lbs of lithium ion batteries to power a truck, maybe more, which means that much less cargo you can carry, not to mention loss of revenue per run. Since present technology prevents recycling of lithium ion batteries, when they fail, where are you going to legally dispose of all these mega million of tons of highly toxic to water supplies batteries???
Chris says
I see more manufacturers going the hydrogen fuel cell electric route (think Nikola One) before strict battery…
Either way, the innovations will be a good thing, and look forward to a truck that can keep up with OTR demands
Cherokee says
At least they won’t be called freightshakers anymore. And it’ll definitely be an improvement getting away from these crappy aftertreatment systems.
Tom says
Yeah, they wont be called Freightshakers. They’ll be called Freightzappers
Cherokee says
Wonder how many drivers will die from truck fires before they perfect it tho.
Andrew H says
None because they’re planning to make them driverless too.
Navajo says
Lol
MT Pockets says
Great answer ^ lol
Dannyboy68 says
Hahaha soo true
Steel Horse and Wooden Mem says
Just big corporations finding another good idea and worthless actions to make money off of. The idea is good, but those trying to make it work are all about money in their pockets
George Jetson says
people who make money are evil
Steel Horse and Wooden Mem says
Not going to happen…never, never, never going to happen
Steel Horse and Wooden Mem says
Too many have and they don’t advertise it, many more til it’s safe
Jude says
Probably not as many as will be killed by shorting electrical systems frying them like “Ol’ Sparky” did so many convicts. The entire electrical system will have to insulated in a way that won’t wear and allow contact after years of bouncing around on our nice, smooth roads we’ve been promised for 50 years.
Optimus Lease Operator says
What is the carbon footprint of producing these vehicles? Over 5 years (the average megacarrier truck lifetime) is it better?
Johnbob57 says
What drivers? U think trucks will require drivers?
Super Trucker says
If they kept diesel under $2 the push for electric trucks would go away.
Marion D. Hunt says
Daimler is going to need another government bailout if they go forward with this plan. Starting up in 2021? The technology is no where near ready, and definitely not the over the road infrastructure. They need to fire this guy and quick while they still have a company.
Sam says
I agree!!
Harley says
Diamler Trucks are “selling on their “old name” Both Freightliner and Western Star are cheaply made “Throw Away” Trucks. Freightliner “Classics” and the “Original” Western Stars, were Great Trucks! Today Diamler has simply “flooded” the market with very low quality machines!
Bob Enyeart says
this guy is so full of it, going to take years before anything like this happens, check his stock options, just like the maverick ceo pusing the eld ater it went thru he retired a millionaire from the stocks,if he neilson runs this company in the ground doing this I say dont use my tax dollars to bail them out,
Jon says
Only reason they are the largest truck company is cause they sell the cheapest truck to the mega carriers. Electric trucks don’t cut it. Natural gas truck also don’t have the range. Diesel shall rein supreme long after Daimler kills itself.
Ken says
Well seeing as Chrysler just st renigged on a 133 million loan to the Canadian government, when he said he will lobby for more government money, we are probably stupid enough to give it to him
carl newton says
let put all the fact out on this response.. It was both GM and FCA loans that got written off.. this happens at times for the better good of all..
https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/canadas-auto-bailout-still-waiting-for-payback
Dannyboy68 says
We (the people)never gave them squat, they do whatever the hell they want to do and we’ve got no say so wake up America
Todd says
Daimler does not own Chrysler anymore. They have not owned it in over a decade now. Fiat owns Chrysler bought it back in 09 I think from a company that bought it off of Daimler.
Blake says
There is a reason your trucks make up most of the “top 100 companies”. They care about revenue only. Let’s not forget that mega corporations(100+ trucks) dont even make up 25% of the industry.
I will stick the the diesel truck I have that I can work on myself.
maloney says
electric is far easier to work on mate.
the tear and wear items will be no different.
transmission and engine will be literally no need to touch for millions of miles, with bearings being the only things going.
try again!
Rick Smith says
If they are more economical, they will succeed. If not they wont.
Remember MOST electricity is generated from OIL.
Diesel is OIL!!! Far closer to the crude from which it comes, than
the electricity that is generated, with all the LOSSES involved there,
not to mention the transmission LOSSES, etc.
If you want to remove tyrannical subsidies, and all the losses from
the EQUATION, electric will NEVER compete with gas or oil.
It CANNOT, without distortions from dictatorial, leftist, eco-maniacal
governments including the USA’s.
Andrew H says
Pretty much. Renewable energy outside raw hydrogen fusion power, can’t sustain a push away from fossil fuels. Electric vehicles is only passing the buck to power plants, which is also inefficient due to things like line loss, energy loss due to stepping up and down, etc. But you know, common sense eludes those people.
WW77 says
YEah, its all another Scam to make the elites even richer, just like the bogus carbon tax, carbon footprint.. Do you know Greenhouses that grow plants have CO2 tanks in there releasing MORE CO2 for the plants ? why is that ? BECAUSE PLANTS BREATH CO2 and make O2 for me and you. If they were so worried they would plant more trees !
I think what we need is some kind of Diesel fuel Turbine that generates electric for the electric motors, Like Locomotives on RR.. You never hear about 3000 HP Locos running on batteries only, Like Kids train set !!!
MT Pockets says
Exactly what he ^ said!
JG says
Most electricity is NOT generated from oil. Only 1% of the electricity in the US comes from petroleum. Natural gas and coal is what makes most of the electricity with nuclear coming in third.
Rob says
Government incentives. Wait, you mean yet more taxpayer money stolen at the point of a gun to be handed over to a multi-million dollar corporation? Wonderful. Seems to me like if the tech was anywhere near viable and financially feasible right now companies would be throwing their own cash at it. Essentially they are wanting the public to fund their R&D and if it it doesn’t work out, oh well, it wasn’t our money.
Jude says
That’s exactly what is meant. In all the years I’ve been asking, NO ONE has been able to cite ANYTHING in the Constitution of the United States that allows the federal government to make any kind of “loan”, “subsidy”, or “grant” to any entity for any purpose. That is to say, “Force taxpayers to cover the costs of research so the companies that will profit from it don’t go bankrupt.”
Mikey G. says
Guess how many drugs were created by government funding and the patents transferred over to Big Pharma ?
R.J. says
I can put 200+ gallons of diesel in my truck in 15 minutes.
How long does it take to charge enough batteries to go thru mountains???
Sure, I have to take a ten hour break, but that would mean having a LOT of
charging stations in out-of-the-way places.
I believe this is simply a way to remove trucks, already paid for, from the roads.
MT Pockets says
Where are u fueling up in 15 min? I haven’t been able 2 do that in a lonnnnng time seeing as whenever I need 2 get fuel i end up pulling behind someone in line at the pumps whose taking his 30 min break & THEN comes out & fuels up. Not the other way around. And my much anticipated quick 15 min fuel stop turns into a 45+ min fiasco. I vote for electric so i can recharge up at the library instead of getting diesel fuel at the pumps for an hour stuck behind some ignorant clueless pinhead playing on his phone for 20 min b4 he decides 2 jump out and get fuel for another 20 min of screwing around & not 1 min of that consists of walking around his rig while he’s fueling up 2 check everything out. Put me down 4 a helium powered big truck.
Taylor says
Curious, what makes you think those same pinheads won’t be doing the same at the charging stations? LOL
MT Pockets says
Good point. You can usually tell, ya know, because your radar usually lets u know when ur in the presence of someone with ZERO common sense, but, yeah, that is something 2 ponder. Ill add it 2 my think tank list next time im on the can when im usually thinking about how 2 solve the worlds problems lol. Maybe a warning ‘cementhead’ branding on their foreheads would be a good start & allow punching 2 the face legal while trying 2 knock some common sense in the idiots heads w/out worrying about any legal consequences & ending up on Judge Judy.
Steel Horse and Wooden Mem says
Just big corporations finding another good idea and worthless actions to make money off of. The idea is good, but those trying to make it work are all about money in their pockets
Todd says
Guess that means no more team drivers. Lol this guy is an idiot.
christopher Primm says
This is the third time in the past two years I’ve had heard a speech like this from a CEO of a major company the rider program which evidently everyone’s already forgot about is in production the trucks are supposed to be being released this fall Ryder rentals is going to take over all the maintenance on these trucks they’re all electric 300 million dollar deal the trucks are coming whether you like it or not and soon very soon
Robert Allard says
I just had the opportunity to drive a Freightliner 2019 running on natural gas it is a bit different from power wise or acceleration, the main issue would be to find a near by natural gas distribution for filling up. I don’t think there is many refill stations in the eastern part of Canada. I would prefer by far the diesel one. At least you could get flling up every where.
Andrew H says
Plus natural gas has problems in the extreme cold. I know Werner would run natural gas daycabs between Channahon IL and Omaha NE, and they couldn’t make it in the winter due to pressure drop.
I don’t know if they have improved on that since then, as this was about 2014 or so when I started seeing them.
Road Rage says
Will this be affordable for the small owner operator? Trucks are already pushing the $200,000 mark.
Skippio says
Sounds like Mr Nielson has been drinking the electric kool Aid.
Bruce says
Our government needs to stop handling out money and make these businesses pay for themselves. Should’ve let them all go bankrupt in 08. They get a loan and still will pass 100% of cost onto the customer. Look at the cost of a new truck these days. Outrageous.
Mike says
If you have a crash in a hydrogen cell fueled truck, isn’t that a hydrogen bomb looking for a place to explode. And they are not electric trucks. They have electric motors with batteries that are re-charged by coal, fossil fuels or maybe nuclear power. Which is what the tree hugger wants to eliminate. Soon we will be back to a mule team and wagon.
Andrew H says
I would be more afraid of a lithium ion fire, because the sheer capacity you’d need to make a truck work decently would be one heck of a fuel source in a crash. Diesel is difficult to ignite and most fuel leaks from a crash not resulting in a fire, just leak out.
Steven says
Many don’t even think of future.
Future was dictated over 20 years ago …but reading from comments…no wonder rates are so cheap.
This electrical trucks are indeed the future.
They will be built with with battery pack for bigger corporations than has plenty terminals and plenty cash in hands.
In half hour an electric truck will get ready with a fresh battery pack and they don’t even need a driver to move them.
At the beginning they will use drivers…but not for long.
Most of this truck at the beginning will be use for long distance…but in time they will change also.
Truck driving jobs in next 20 years will be something from past….long distance for sure.
Mega corporations will build new terminals for interchange equipment…as they actually does in some instances as we speak.
This is indeed the future…unless legislators will react.
But they won’t…we being sold long time ago.
Albert burgos says
Truth
shogun says
I love these matter of fact posts. Either by a bot or someone who has never driven a truck making these grand suggestions oblivious to so many concrete facts.
Preach on, former Radio Shack employee!!
Kevin says
“But the company hopes to get “financial incentives” from the government to help develop the technology and offset some of the costs for consumers”
Another rich corporation looking for a “Taxpayer Handout” from our government…!!!
Rocky D says
You are exactly right Kevin, they want to continue lining their pockets with taxpayer money
Rocky D says
https://www.westernjournal.com/ct/scam-century-scientific-study-destroys-electric-car-debate/ So you claim to be alternative fuel friendly, yet scientist are making claims that your electric vehicles are worse for the planet than the diesel fuel vehicles
Ken says
I used to work for a freightliner dealer and we had one company who ordered a natural gas truck this was in 2015 they had nothing but trouble with that thing and we did not know how to fix it, I told the boss maybe we should call a HVAC tech ( furnace repairman )
Ken Harvey says
Ahhhhhh! The winds of change the future,indeed it will happen what use to be science fiction is science fact people try to stop these,but reality and fate go together hand to hand
Mr. YAWN says
ALL OF THIS IS LAME FORGET ALL OF THAT STUPID SILLY JUNK AND JUST GO BACK TO MAKING ALL CAB OVER TRUCKS THEY WERE THE BEST TRUCKS EVER MADE AND OUT ON THE ROAD POINT BLANK PERIOD 10 4
ELOW MUSK says
After seeing one of them tesla small cars blow up and lithium do so much damage plus environment contamination…. I waiting for electric fuel tanker get “hot” in 5 line stand still down town traffic…. Any one up for some crisp fried tree huggers for breakfast?
Heath says
I find it funny that all the tree huggers are jumping on this bandwagon when it takes more oil, coal, etc. to be able to produce all this extra electricity we are going to need than what they trucks they want to replace could ever burn. Not to mention our power grids are already inadequate, and where are you going to find a place to put the chargers in already crowded truck stops and rest areas?
Dale says
The future IS electric. Renewable, clean energy. I hear old teamster panning the demise of horse drawn wagons whenever I listen to truckers nowadays telling everyone diesel is here to stay.
joe says
electric generated from what?
when we already have rolling blackouts in large cities from using the a/c imagine adding in a billion cars and trucks trying to recharge
Todd says
It is here to stay. Electric will not work here. Can you imagine an electric truck being involved in a wreck. How much power those batteries have to produce to get a 40 ton fully loaded truck moving and keep it moving. 600 to 700 miles a day. Then try to find a charging station. And how is that electric produced? Coal….. Lol all we are doing in putting more stress on a old over worked electrical production plants. We still have cities who don’t have enough electric to provide power to thier customers. So you really think adding thousands of electric hungry trucks trying to charge at night all at the same time is going to work??? Really.
Robert R says
Climate change which has been happening ever since this Planet was formed will definitely be blamed for whatever changes occur in the Transportation Industry!
Joey says
Sure, go ahead and make em all electric,then diesel for my peterbilt will be dirt cheap haha and no sitting waiting to charge…..
John kandziora says
U dinasaurs just have to get over it big trucks are responsible for 95 percent of r global warming problems I just wish semis would just go away
Ron says
Stupid article. if anything the push for driverless vehicles will be the next greedy thing coming. Not higher driver pay matching record company profits.
David says
Not worried will be long gone.
Solomon says
This is more gobbledygook coming from the elites as they can’t figure out more ways to screw us the sheeple and enslave us more than what we’re already enslaved !!!
Folks, the elites’ plan is even more sinister than what it appears !!!
Listen, if everything must go the way of electric, robotics and AI (artificial intelligence), I wonder who for, since us the working stiffs will have no place in this new utopian order?
Anyway, the subject is electric trucks, right?
Where is the electricity coming from and how is the already overly burdened electric grid going to withstand the increased demand?
Folks, the elites will never ever allow the world to tap into any form of energy which they can’t control and charge a fortune for !!!!
Tech demonstrated long time ago that “cosmic energy” can be harnessed with relatively cheap technology and even the existing internal combustion engines using conventional fuels could be made hundreds of times more efficient to the point that a large freight truck could get 20 to 30 miles per gallon of diesel, but all of those folks which developed these technologies were either bought by the “too big to fail” corporations and their inventions disappeared without a trace, or simply they disappeared from amongst the living and you never heard about them anymore and neither about their inventions, right?
Every single development in this stinking world is aimed to further control and enslave the masses ! Nothing will ever change for the better as long as the elites rule this world !
Tom says
I wonder how long will it take to charge up a truck at the fuel lines!! I’m not waiting no 3 hrs at a fuel line for someone!!
Lance Newcomb says
Hydrogen has zero future. There is no infrastructure and no way to produce hydrogen without consuming more electricity than it can produce.
Electric has no future either for the same reasons. Our power grid can’t even keep up with air conditioning demands in the summer, what makes them think it can handle the many GWh production and distribution it would take to charge a country of cars and trucks?
And where are the battery materials going to come from? Materials are sourced all over the world. Guess what they are transported across the ocean on? Cargo ships, THE single most polluting objects man has ever produced!
les_gvt says
evidently you have forgotten about ethanol- energy consumed producing v what you get has never stopped it being made- however- the hydorgen would be no problem from nuclear power facilities
MrYowler says
Lance, ideally, power production would be local – there are a lot of rural wind farms already operating with little market for the energy that they produce. Since batteries would most likely be removed from the truck for charging, there would not be any particular imperative to charge them in competition with demand from other grid users – in fact, batteries not in immediate transportation demand could conceivably be used to support grid demand, in times of need. Batteries could be charged only when capacity to do so, is available – off-peak, or during windy or sunny conditions (in the case of wind or solar power sourcing).
Marine shipping has been particularly bad about pollution principally as a result of spills – oil, more than anything else, perhaps because it floats, it sticks to everything, and it kills most of what it sticks to. Also, the sheer volume of oil that we use creates a lot more shipping than we might reasonably expect from, say, lithium. It’s arguable that the only thing Americans use more of, than petroleum, is water. Batteries are recyclable; gasoline and diesel, not so much – so where oil shipping is fairly consistent with demand, shipping of raw materials for batteries can be expected to decline as recycling ramps up. Shipping spills aren’t really the principal environmental concern, with oil, anyway – and it’s likely to be a hard sell, comparing spill risks of fuel to rechargeable system materials. After a single use, vitually all fuel is released into the environment as something poisonous or harmful – even plastics. How many charges will a lithium battery take, before being recycled how many times, before finally being released, probably in a largely inert state?
MT Pockets says
LOL ^. U almost wait that long now at the pump. At least some(most)days i need fuell it seems im sitting behind some ******f for 3 hours while he does everything but get fuel.By the time these electric trucks become the new thing in transportation, Ill be living on an island sipping beverages from a hammock overlooking the pristine blue waters 100 ft away. Don’t care really. Ive done my thing out here over 2 million miles so Ive checked out already last yr & moved on down the road so-to-speak. Get out & get the gettin while the gettin is good peeps b4 the ecomony turns left & it all goes 2 hell 4 several yrs.
Rickyrobby says
I love global warming
Make America great again
Powder River says
“Incentives from the Government” we are not Europe these are social economic terms, what he really means is for the burden of debt to be absorbed by the American tax payer. Obviously this guy is a globalist climate change advocate we don’t need his kind here.
Super trucker says
I like how the government worked with california to completely destroy the reliability and efficiency of the diesel engine to further push a political agenda to foster californias ill concieved notion of an economy
Billy Rankin says
Anybody remember those charging tv ventilation parking space things they had before apu’s. They really worked out to. I suppose they will put solar panels on the trailer roofs.
Electric only makes sense for last mile trucking companies
les_gvt says
you are starting to get the big picture. everything they are doing is aimed at last mile trucking. The intent is to get everything on rail. And everyone just run down to the station and pick up a load for local delivery
Kenny says
I don’t care how big Daimler is, what they know and how much insight they have.
They cannot see into the future like I can.
Now hear me out, they will go ahead with it but it will fail, it will fail and they will jump ship…something really bad will happen…I can’t say just yet what it is but it’s a FACT!!
Farren says
I am a diesel mechanic and fleet maintenance manager. I managed one of the 50 largest largest fleets in the country for 20 years, now I work for a small fleet as less stress. I know a fair amount about electric drive motors and the technology is there to build these things if they can improve the battery weight to discharge ratio. Solar will play a good part of recharge as well as they will have to have a fuel fired gen set like a train has. The driver motors will also work as generators so when you slow down you do it with drive motors that recharge your batteries, brakes are secondary. I don’t like it any more than the rest of you but it is coming and it will work. They are not saying the grid will be functional to supply recharge at all places by 2021 but it has to start somewhere.
Darren Ammons says
They also make the crapiest trucks in the industry!
les_gvt says
financial incentives from the government” translated is- Us taxpayers will be stuck footing the bill
les_gvt says
I really want to know just how long of an extension cord DOT will let us drag behind us. and how long it will take to roll it up each time- will that go against our drive time on HOS?
MT Pockets says
LMAO ^. I have a visual lol , thats funny
Jude says
Won’t need an extension cord. Just run the power lines over the road and hook them to the trucks like you see in the old pictures of trollies in places like New York City. I can see the picture now of those lines after any and every storm across the Great Plains, laying on the ground like in every city across the country that still runs electrical and phone lines in the air on poles.
les_gvt says
someone needs to ask the CEO of Daimler where these batteries are being made. If they are too hazardous to be manufactured in the US or Europe- that measn they are also to hazardous to be on our roads. Dirty little secret that few realize- batteries for Teslas, etc are made in China and 3rd world nations because our EPA will not allow them to be built here- too many dangerous and toxic chemicals
PupEPerson says
Tell that to the 7500 or so people making batteries for Tesla and Samsung (?) in McCarran, NV, just east of Reno. You never heard of the “Gigafactory?”
Anonymous says
As of right now, the range on an electric heavy duty truck for hauling freight is only 300 miles at best on a full charge. We truckers normally have to drive twice that amount in one day. Diesel trucks can run a minimum of 1000 miles on a full tank and some up to 1700 miles. Going full electric will create a demand for more trucks on the road to cover the freight demand which is very bad because there is already a severe shortage on parking availability for over the road heavy trucks. Unless you can make the batteries last long enough for us to run 600-800 miles on a full charge and getting a full charge overnight while running a/c or heat (depending on outside temperature) in order to keep comfortable, then electric is currently not feasible for this industry.
Sara says
Diesel kills our bees. And us. Costly. Eco friendly sounds great electric well I don’t know sounds like a lot of noisy stolen generators happening
Jeff says
Nah technology in today’s world does work as designed. Google maps have flaws, the ELD continues to have trouble, affordable healthcare act website flopped, cracks in the bank world, so many worm holes and data breaches. Instead of fixing the problems that technology has created technologist make new problems. Take a mechanical engine they added computers to it and so so many problems. So if you think that I would step forth into these self driving trucks is suicide as far as I’m concerned. Do you even know how a battery burns you if it leaks, cracks or explodes. You will always need a dentist, carpenter, mechanic, engine, doctor etc. Yes in some applications technology is great others no so good
steve miller says
Electical grid does not have enough power to support all electric trucks. Not even close. Either this guy is stupid or he is selling something. I doubt he is stupid. I am not buying, but good luck with that.
Todd says
It will cost taxes payers billions of dollars just to upgrade our power grid before this could even remotely be capable of happening. Just imagine the power strain of thousands of trucks trying to charge every night at the same time. He’ll they can’t produce enough electric in the summer to keep your a.c. running in your house. Do you really think the power grid can produce enough electric to charge tens of thousands of trucks energy single day. How much power will this truck have to produce to keep a 40 ton truck rolling down the road for 600 miles a day?
Jude says
Daimler “hopes to get financial incentives from the government” to offset the costs involved in their research. This is to say, “We want the taxpayer to cover our costs in case we end up falling flat on our faces and near bankruptcy.” I DEFY everyone to cite the part of the Constitution of the United States that allows the federal government to force taxpayers, through tax funding, to cover the cost of ANY “research”. If comrade nielson wants Daimler to be involved in the next generation of trucks, let Daimler pay the costs of participation. The same goes for ALL of the companies that want to be involved and plan to reap the profits.
Joel says
OTR shipping will be delayed. 8 hr required for full charge. Shutting down will be an exact proportion stop from any direction. No shutting down in snow storms and delay trip. Hybrid would work.
Kc says
It’s always interesting how the next great idea always brings the next great disaster. I guess this is called progress. Everything has it’s limitations and to try and exceed that limit comes at a cost. There is always a flaw in the system.
The interesting question is what happens to the air systems on these trucks used for suspension and braking? What is the
alternative?
DG says
So…
1- They’ll have to up gross weight limits across the country. Cause you know these trucks will outweigh a diesel by alot.
2- Charge 8-10 hrs a night, just so under perfect conditions i can run 500 miles, and hope like hell theres a charger/battery station. When i can get diesel almost anywhere and be back on the road in 20 minutes and run 1400miles.
3- Charging “clean” trucks with overtaxed coal fired plants. Makes sense eh?
4- Have no good way of engine braking.(possibly, im not sure how itd work on a glorified power drill)
5- Someone rolls after a car pulls out infront of them, infecting some precious wetland with NiCad acid. Yep enviro friendly right?
Hugh Jass says
don’t fall for it. environmentalists will never be happy. diesel engines were too dirty, so we came up with DPF and DEF. oh my god ,they’re so much cleaner it’s so great. now they’re complaining they’re still not clean enough. so we’ll switch to electric. then in a few years they’ll be complaining about toxic batteries and we’ll be moving freight with horses and carts. then they’ll complain the horses are farting too much and contributing to greenhouse gas, so we’ll move everything with humans pushing hand carts. then they’ll complain the humans are farting too much and we’ll have to ban humans. then, and only then, once humanity is extinct, will the environmentalists be happy.
Tom says
Okay, here’s a dirty little secret for ya. By the time a typical electric car gets sold off the showroom floor, it has developed an 80,000 mile carbon footprint. It’s that dirty for the lithium to be mined, refined and made into a battery. Now, times that by the capacity of the battery needed to run that truck. Then times THAT figure by the number of electric trucks that will be sold. One more 5hing that nobody is thinking about, what are we going to do with all that lithium when it has been depleted.all those heavy metals have to ho somewhere. I have a feeling this is gonna turn out just like adding ethanol to gasoline did. When you count all the ducks from farm to tail pipe instead of pump to tail pipe, you are polluting the air more by using ethanol rather than straight gasoline. Gas without ethanol is better for your engine too.
Brian Schneider says
Another great point
Sara says
Giant drones will take our loads
Sara says
Yes giant drones the only thing they’ll pay is air fare
Michael says
Some day there be electric trucks, but do You really think that they will work out in northern Canada with all the rough roads and salt put on roads in winter months !! Never work !!
Sara says
Not unless they can lift off of the ground and fly like the harrier carrier
Brian Schneider says
Scares me how ignorant the ceo of the biggest builder is. Our electric grid can barely handle homes and industry, beside the fact something will have to be burnt to generate that juice.
Terry says
Solar powered trucks, what is next ? Daimler needs to get off the crack, put down the pipe dude!
Anonymous says
Anyone remember Tesla Trucks? Several companies, including Canadian placed order’s, recently Musk annouced the truck has been delyed one year. According to Musk charging stations can be installed in docks for a charge while waiting. Musk won’t quit, he’ll install charging stations where ever there’s a need.
Tesla trucks are coming, soon, very soon. He is the guy providing the push for other’s to switch. Tesla is the competition
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH says
WHERE will the Lithium come from? Is there ENOUGH lithium to power the MILLIONS UPON MILLIONS of trucks for MILLIONS of miles over DECADES on all continents if the diesels are going the way of the dodo? How much MONEY will it cost to purchase a so-called “green truck”? Will it be out of reach for owner operators? Will the cost of EVERYTHING being transported by these expensive and untested trucks be passed on to consumers? How much new regulation will be created since every “Green Truck” will now technically be hauling “HAZ MAT” in dangerous quantities? How much taxpayer money will be used to bolster the roads and bridges for the heavier weight?
WHERE are the WASTE grounds going to be located when MILLIONS OF TONS of depleted batteries need to be dumped? What are the environmental impacts of truck wrecks from burning lithium batteries? First responder health risks? Community health risks? If autonomous trucks are the “Future” then, what is the “Future” for the millions of drivers that will be forced out of their jobs? More toxic dumping grounds! (We’re sorry kids!) Everything MORE expensive! Job Killer! We are already losing millions of good drivers due to overregulation and lower rates! Smaller fleets are being forced out by the mega fleets and the rental companies that supply them with throwaway trucks. Now they say that the only PROVEN model for sustainable transportation and Jobs is a Dodo? Let the first lithium dumping ground on our soil be known as Death Occupies Desert Outlands! D.O.D.O !!!!!!
Randy says
I’m not dumb enough to say it will never happen but I’ll be long buried with nothing but a memory of me when it happens….pretty risky venture for Daimler I’d say but what do I know? Technology will need to improve for sure. I notice all the photos with photo cells are of van trailers…be pretty tough to implement on a platform trailer or heavyhaul trailer. Diesel/electric could interest me as it would eliminate transmissions (which most of the new breed can’t shift anyway) and rear ends. It would eliminate the battery issues (weight and recharge) so if I were spending the money, that’s the direction I would go. The torque is much higher on an electric motor than a diesel engine as well.