{"id":3099,"date":"2019-07-17T17:35:38","date_gmt":"2019-07-17T15:35:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3099"},"modified":"2019-07-17T17:35:38","modified_gmt":"2019-07-17T15:35:38","slug":"3099","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/07\/17\/3099\/","title":{"rendered":"Thor Trucks Takes Different Approach to Electric Trucks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Thor<\/p>\n

Thor Trucks is a new electric truck company initially focused on regional-haul applications. <\/strong>Photo: Thor Trucks<\/em><\/p>\n

Thor Trucks Takes Different Approach to Electric Trucks<\/h2>\n

What do you get when you get together a group of West Coast tech heads with family backgrounds in trucking? A whole new electric truck company, that\u2019s what. At least that\u2019s what Giordano Sordoni thinks.<\/p>\n

Sordoni is the co-founder and chief operating officer of Thor Trucks<\/a>, a Los Angeles-based truck manufacturer and technology lab. He told HDT in an interview that the Thor Trucks team is focused on providing long-haul electric truck solutions that are \u201creasonable and profitable now.\u201d The resulting prototype is a tough-looking regional-haul truck with an aggressive stance and styling that even old school truckers can appreciate.<\/p>\n

But styling cues aside, Sordoni said the Thor truck \u2013 and his company\u2019s vision \u2013 is firmly rooted in future technology and the rapid changes coming at trucking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe push toward more in-home delivery is where our vision was born,\u201d Sordoni said. \u201cOur families have a fleet background, so we understand the challenges of compliance, maintenance, fluctuating fuel prices, and other trucking issues today. And an electric truck solves a lot of those problems. You go from a vehicle with 2,000 moving parts to fewer than 20, so maintenance is cheaper. There\u2019s no exhaust treatment or diesel particulate filter to deal with. And, if you get enough of these trucks on the road, you\u2019ll eventually see fuel prices stabilize. So, electric trucks are actually good for fleets that run diesel, too.”<\/p>\n

The God of Thunder Comes to Trucking<\/h3>\n

The first Thor truck, dubbed the ET-One, is spec\u2019d for regional-haul applications with daily ranges of 300 miles or less.<\/p>\n

The company says the truck features instananeous torque starting at 0 rpm, with powertrain options ranging from 300 to 700 hp. The ET-One features a regenerative braking system and battery packs designed specifically for commercial vehicle applications, and has the highest energy density lithium-ion cylindrical cells available today, according to the company.<\/p>\n

While Sordoni and his team think electric powertrains will eventually be feasible in long-haul applications, changing freight patterns and a new emphasis on in-home grocery deliveries are the primary factors driving his design team today.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, I think regional haul makes the most sense for us,\u201d Sordoni said. \u201cWe\u2019re looking specifically at predicable routes that the drivers know like the back of their hand. Fleets know exactly where trucks on these routes are at any point during the day or night. So, we\u2019re looking at developing a vehicle and a charging network spaced in an intelligent way to support those operations. And by doing so, we\u2019ll have a capable truck that appeals to a huge swath of the trucking industry today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on their collective fleet backgrounds, Sordoni said his design team has focused heavily on giving Thor trucks a familiar, comfortable, and productive environment, noting that many regional-haul routes rely heavily on human drivers unloading the truck, checking inventory, and reporting issues back to headquarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd those types of jobs won\u2019t be replaced by robots any time soon,\u201d Sordoni added. \u201cIn fact, my co-workers hate going to lunch with me because I\u2019m always chasing down a truck on a route and talking to the driver. We also make a point of inviting drivers we meet on routes back to our labs to inspect our trucks up close and give us feedback on what we\u2019re doing. They\u2019re pretty skeptical at first. But once they take a drive in the truck and see what our approach is, they convert pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Partnering with Established Suppliers<\/h3>\n

Thor also has taken on a business model that is \u201ca little bit different\u201d from the one being pursued by most of his electric truck competitors, Sordoni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re seeing a lot of OEMs out there trying to do everything themselves,\u201d he explained. \u201cThey\u2019re making huge claims and promises regarding dealerships, service and nationwide charging networks. Our strategy is to partner with existing companies already in the trucking ecosystem to manufacture or service our vehicles. There\u2019s not a lot of value in us designing and manufacturing an axle, for example, when there are a lot of excellent companies out there already producing components like that, and there\u2019s frankly not a lot of value we can add in that area.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next steps for Thor, according to Sordoni, will be demonstrating prototype vehicles throughout 2018 with an emphasis on getting the truck into the hands of potential customers. \u201cWe want them to run them in their daily operations and make certain they can live up to the duty cycles we\u2019ve designed them for.”<\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.government-fleet.com<\/p>\n

FLEET MANAGEMENT AUDIT<\/h3>\n

Fleet management is the use of a set of vehicles in order to provide services to a third-party, or to perform a task for our organization, in the most efficient and productive manner with a determined level of service and cost.<\/p>\n

Fleet management activities are shown in the following graph 1:<\/p>\n

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Graph 1: fleet management activities<\/p>\n

The proposal audit analyses and assesses all fleet management activities shown in the graph 1, and its main goals are:<\/p>\n