{"id":3924,"date":"2019-12-26T16:13:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-26T15:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/?p=3924"},"modified":"2019-12-26T16:13:55","modified_gmt":"2019-12-26T15:13:55","slug":"3924","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advancedfleetmanagementconsulting.com\/eng\/2019\/12\/26\/3924\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Fleet Operator Builds an Electric Truck"},"content":{"rendered":"

How a Fleet Operator Builds an Electric Truck<\/h3>\n

Xos cofounders Dakota Semler (left) and Gio Sordoni pose for a Bobit photo shoot. The company first produced the prototype fully electric semi called the ET-One (right) but is now focused on last-mile delivery applications. The white Class 6 delivery truck is in a pilot for Loomis, a cash-in-transit provider.<\/p>\n

Dakota Semler comes at vehicle electrification from a uniquely fleet point of view \u2014 he started in the family business in Southern California that ran a fleet of medium- and heavy-duty trucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cI dealt with fuel management, looking at fuel budgets and how we could save money, keep trucks on the road, and maintain them and service them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

With successive diesel emissions standards looming\u00a0in the\u00a02000s, the company started investigating alternative technologies. \u201cWe eventually shut down because we couldn’t meet the new compliance standards,\u201d Semler says, referring to the 2010 diesel emissions standards.<\/p>\n

At the time, compressed natural gas (CNG) was the hot alternative fuel, but Semler\u2019s company decided against it.<\/p>\n

\u201cCNG and other alternative technologies were always going to be subject to CARB (California Air Resources Board) and EPA standards,\u201d he says. \u201cWe realized it would get increasingly harder to be compliant with these complex emissions and fuel systems, so we went full bore ahead with battery electric vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making the leap from fleet operator to electric truck maker is no small feat, but Semler and cofounder\u00a0Gio\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0were able to produce a prototype fully electric semi\u00a0in 2017\u00a0called the ET-One from their startup, Thor Trucks, now named XOS.<\/p>\n

The pair soon realized that the battery technology and charging infrastructure requirements for long hauls would take longer to develop. In the meantime, they\u00a0saw\u00a0immediate\u00a0opportunity for\u00a0last-mile applications such as food and beverage, parcel, and e-commerce package deliveries.<\/p>\n

\"A
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A foosball\u00a0table? No, a battery pack:\u00a0Xos\u00a0batteries are purpose-built for commercial applications and are designed to be swapped individually.\u00a0\u00a0Photo by Chris Brown.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Those fleets run a high number of stops, set routes of up to 100 miles a day, and return to a central depot.\u00a0They\u00a0also\u00a0don\u2019t require as much power to charge those vehicles as heavy duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe challenge with heavy duty is getting fleets set up with the\u00a0trucking infrastructure that they’ll need to charge hundreds of kilowatts of energy at a given time,\u201d\u00a0says\u00a0Sordoni, COO.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s Class 6 is available for purchase today, though in low volume production, with production ramping up in 2020. The heavy-duty model is \u201ca little further off but coming soon,\u201d\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

Semler and\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0assessed hydrogen fuel cells but aren\u2019t pursuing the technology.<\/p>\n

Hydrogen might be appropriate for longer range needs in the future, but the infrastructure isn’t in place yet,\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says,\u00a0also referencing the\u00a0complexity of the hydrogen powertrain, which requires two power sources and as many as eight different voltages onboard the vehicle.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom a simplicity perspective we decided to tackle that massive swath in the market that is doing under 100 to 150 miles a day, which we can address with a purely electric powertrain,\u201d\u00a0he says.<\/p>\n

Purpose Built\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The result is a purpose-built\u00a0Xos\u00a0electric chassis, a \u201cskateboard\u201d that can accommodate a range of bodies for various applications. The focus at present\u00a0is a Class 6 fully electric delivery truck that is in pilots with UPS\u00a0and Loomis, a cash-in-transit provider.<\/p>\n

Xox builds its batteries from scratch and engineers its own software and vehicle controls. As opposed to liquid cooling, the batteries use an air-cooling system. This\u00a0is better suited for commercial truck applications,\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says,\u00a0allowing\u00a0for a safer, more energy dense, and less expensive\u00a0battery that\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0designed to fit in the tight space of a passenger car.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur (electric) step van really doesn’t need to do zero to 60 in three seconds,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cIt’s going to be on the road for a long time. We\u2019re building a battery pack more focused on cost and durability than on performance characteristics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xox partners with\u00a0Utilimaster\u00a0and Morgan Olson to provide the van bodies for the UPS and Loomis EVs.<\/p>\n

The Loomis trucks are armored and therefore heavier, and as some Loomis routes involve coin transfers, payloads can max out at 10,000 lbs. Semler says the\u00a0Xos\u00a0trucks in the Loomis application can travel up to 120 miles, which is well within their normal daily delivery range of 60 to 80 miles.<\/p>\n

With less weight to carry, the UPS electric vehicles achieve the same range but with fewer battery packs. \u201cUPS parcel delivery vans average about 65 miles per day, so they are still able to get back to the depot and not worry about range anxiety,\u201d Semler says.<\/p>\n

Range is impacted by not only the weight of the vehicle and the payload, but also the driving terrain, and auxiliary loads such as air conditioning or refrigeration of cargo.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe one that is most overlooked is the driver profile,\u201d\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says. \u201cDriving style can have a big impact on range. It’s incumbent upon the OEM to do a better job of helping fleets train their drivers to have a really efficient duty cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xos manufactures its batteries in its North Hollywood facility and assembles the truck chasses in Tennessee, where the completed vehicles roll off the line for delivery. The company plans to expand the Tennessee facility and may co-locate its battery manufacturing there.<\/p>\n

\"Under
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Under the hood of the electric truck used by Loomis: As opposed to liquid cooling,\u00a0Xos\u00a0batteries are air cooled, which\u00a0allows for a safer, cheaper more energy dense battery.\u00a0\u00a0Photo by Chris Brown.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today\u2019s batteries should last about six to 10 years before needing to be replaced, depending on duty cycle and use case. Sordini says\u00a0Xos batteries are designed to be swapped individually, instead of having to replace the entire vehicle\u2019s battery packs, a cost-saving measure when and if range degrades.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cModularity is a key focus of our design,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The Payback Equation<\/h5>\n

When it comes to electrification, fleet\u00a0operators\u00a0need to\u00a0measure\u00a0total cost of ownership and return on investment.\u00a0That\u00a0equation\u00a0is just now starting to make sense.<\/p>\n

Semler\u00a0estimates\u00a0that\u00a0for electric vehicles to compete with diesel on total cost of ownership, battery costs\u00a0must fall\u00a0below about $200 a kilowatt hour.\u00a0Battery costs have dropped in the last 10 years from over $1,000 a kilowatt hour to within $200 to $300.<\/p>\n

\u201cFleets are willing to convert from diesel to electric as long as you can show a path to about a three-year payback,\u201d\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

Sordoni\u00a0says by switching to electric,\u00a0trucking fleets can save from 50% to as high as 80% in fuel costs, depending on the utility and rate structure.\u00a0Yet federal and regional subsidies are still essential: \u201cIncentives play a key role in helping companies like us get to scale, but our goal is to compete with diesel on cost without incentives,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Xos \u2014 as well as other\u00a0electric vehicle makers\u00a0\u2014\u00a0are\u00a0beginning to realize\u00a0greater cost savings\u00a0in production\u00a0to make that happen.<\/p>\n

Battery prices will fall, but there are other cost optimizations to be realized,\u00a0Sordoni\u00a0says. He references power electronics, which are presently bought off the shelf and sometimes need to be duplicated to achieve the right voltage levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s still very early,\u201d\u00a0he\u00a0says.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0truck electrification market is growing exponentially, with mainline OEMs\u00a0retooling facilities and ramping up production capabilities.\u00a0That growth is not lost on\u00a0Xos\u2019 founders.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think competition is good for us,\u201d Semler says.\u00a0\u201cIt validates that there’s a need for\u00a0(electrification)\u00a0in the market, and ultimately it’s going to encourage us to be better at our game. We want to see the incumbents come into this space\u00a0so that customers\u00a0have\u00a0a choice of product, and\u00a0it\u00a0ultimately encourages us to build\u00a0the best product we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

by Chris Brown<\/a><\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.truckinginfo.com<\/a><\/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

\"fleet<\/p>\n

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