September/October Issue 63 - Flipbook - Page 15
ERY INDUSTRY AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES?
meanwhile, has a maximum
payload of 1,096kg, compared
to a top figure of 1,309kg for the
diesel version. To help illustrate
this reduction in capacity I have
presented the data in Table 1.
It is important to understand how
a reduced payload will affect
what we buy, especially when we
are also learning that even the
smallest EV’s, such as BMW i3,
are relatively heavy in comparison
to their conventional models.
In Table 2 below I have listed
a few EV models together with
their kerb weights which leads us
to ask; What EV’s can be legally
loaded on to a 3.5t electric truck?
Well, the answer is, not that many.
The above figures are merely a
conversation starter.
There’s not much out there that
can be easily ‘googled’ to attain
payload data for e-Trucks, indeed,
all the e-truck manufacturers I
contacted either didn’t respond or
couldn’t give me an answer. But
we can already see that even the
smallest EV, when combined with
the reduced payload of e-trucks,
leads us to question that 3.5
tonners, whether they’re electric
or not, will no longer be suitable
for breakdown recovery or vehicle
transport.
Some would argue that 3.5t
beaver tails are not suitable now,
with lighter conventional cars,
so it does look like this category
of truck will be the first victim of
the EV transition, there simply
would not be a market for them
in our sector. That’s probably a
good thing because it would have
an agreeable side effect to most
professional recovery operators.
It would mean those marginal
operators who work under the
radar will be forced into scope
of ‘O’ License as they could only
operate with a larger 7.5 vehicle.
That said, with this present trend of
heavier e-vehicles, it could be that
7.5t flat beds will also succumb to
demise during the transition.
One aspect is for sure in the near
future; logistics and fleet planning
will be changing on a drastic
scale, similar to a century ago.
At the turn of the 20th century, in
less than a generation, operators
had to convert what they bought,
how they cared for, and how
they used their horses into a
completely different model - that
of running a combustion vehicle.
If you take this argument to the
ninth degree, where heavier EV
cars are combined with EV trucks
that suffer from reduced payload
and operating distance, it won’t be
just 3.5t and 7.5t trucks looking at
obsoletion.
You will also start having to think
about the impact on multi car
carriers. An increased payload
(that can’t be split) equates to
fewer vehicles per journey. Of
course, I should factor in that
over time batteries will become
more efficient and probably
cheaper, but if you get your math’s
wrong your costs will increase to
unsustainable levels.
It is worth mentioning that general
haulage operators are able to
manage heavy load planning
by splitting the load between
trucks and additional drop offs
as they palletise their produce.
The recovery industry doesn’t
have the luxury of splitting a car,
and we certainly can’t plan an
accident that happens at 3am in
the morning when our e-truck is
still on charge.
This is important to consider as
most EV manufacturers defend
their reduced payload and range
by arguing that running costs
are lower and a single dedicated
e-truck can be used in a smaller
drop zone. This type of planning
doesn’t work for us.
WHAT ARE THE PROJECTIONS
FOR EV’S ON OUR ROADS?
Well it depends who you listen to.
Projections by The National Grid
suggest that the UK stock of EVs
could reach between 2.7 and 10.6
million by 2030 and could rise as
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