Electric vehicles are becoming a common sight in most countries around the world. And for a good reason, this trend is going to continue increasing. But the electrification of one segment of the market – the commercial vehicles, especially from medium to heavy vehicles was seen as very complicated and demanding. But despite all the hurdles the electromobility options in CVs are increasing at a decent pace. Continue reading as we explore the electric trucks Australia market and the best options that are available to buy.
The CV segment has vehicles that operate in an extremely diverse range of tasks, unlike the passenger car segment. Moreover, many of these vehicles have operating cycles that require hundreds of kilometres of travel carrying heavy loads on a daily basis. There is not going to be a one-size-fits-all solution. Hence, bringing electrification to CVs would require a lot of effort. From both the governments and industries from around the world.
As we push the technological boundaries to address climate change, bringing more sustainable forms of transport, the cost of EVs has dropped significantly. Also, there are drastic improvements in their operating range, performance and reliability.
Here you can find a list of all the best battery-operated electric trucks that are available in Australia.
SEA Electric
SEA Electric is an Australian company headquartered in California. It provides e-mobility solutions with its proprietary SEA-Drive electric power system which is compatible with most OEM glider chassis.
SEA 500 EV
The SEA 500 EV series is available in 4×2 and 6×2 forms, with GVM offers ranging between 15 and 22.5 tonnes.
One of the models, SEA 500-225 powered by SEA Drive 280-35 power system has a GVM of 22.5 tonnes. It comes with an axle configuration of 6×2 while the maximum body length is 9.240 m.
Continuous power of 259 kW to a maximum of 372 kW can be obtained from the power system. While the magnitude of continuous torque is 1969 Nm to a maximum of 3999 Nm.
The vehicle can go up to 300 km on a single charge unladen. Also, it is designed to operate in ranges of -20 to 50 degrees Celsius.
Charging the 280-kWh battery takes up to 14 hours
SEA 300 EV
The Sea 300 EV light-duty range has GVM ranging from 4.5 to 8.5 tonnes. Also, a variety of wheelbase, payload and body length configurations are available. All these options have a 4×2 axle format.
Options to choose between three different motors corresponding to various power requirements are available.
Depending on the battery options along with other configurations, these trucks can have a range of up to 300 km.
Volvo
Volvo is one of the top-tier heavy-duty commercial vehicles in the market. It is also a dominant player when it comes to electromobility. The company offers a wide range of fully-electric trucks of medium and heavy-duty classes to address varying demands of the market. Its medium-duty lineup consists of FL Electric and FE Electric models. While on the other hand, the heavy-duty lineup consists of FM Electric, FMX Electric and FH Electric.
FL Electric
The FL Electric is an ideal option for urban logistics and waste management. It has a GVW of up to 16.7-tonnes with Day cab or Short sleeper cab options available. The two-axle vehicle consists of an electric powertrain delivering continuous power of 165 kW to a peak of 200 kW.
FL Electric can have up to 317 kWh of battery capacity. This would allow a driving range of up to 300 km, depending on various configurations.
Fuso eCanter
The FUSO eCanter is an all-electric truck. To begin with, it has a GVM of 7.49-tonnes. While a payload capacity of around 4.21- tonnes with the cab chassis can be had.
It has an electric drive with a maximum power of 135 kW along with a peak torque of 390 Nm.
The top speed of the light truck is 80 km/h. Also, it can climb a maximum gradeability of 20 percent.
Also, its battery pack of 81 kWh allows it a driving range of around 100 km
Janus Electric
Janus Electric is an Australian company providing e-mobility solutions to commercial vehicles with its custom-made solutions. These trucks can have a range of up to 600 km depending on the type of application.
One of the important features that this company offers is the use of swappable batteries.
Nexport
Nexport is an Australian company that offers a range of e-mobility solutions.