|
The market for electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks is in its
infancy. Still, established manufacturers such as Daimler and
Navistar International Corp <NAV.N>, as well as electric
carmaker Tesla Inc <TSLA.O> and a host of other new entrants,
are racing to overcome the challenges of substituting batteries
for diesel engines as regulators crack down on carbon dioxide
and soot pollution.
Daimler's Mitsubishi Fuso unit began building eCanter trucks at
factories in Portugal and Japan earlier this year. The vehicles
are designed for delivering goods in large cities and have a
range of about 100 km (60 miles) between charges, Daimler said.
Customers can order eCanters with more battery packs and greater
range, or sacrifice range to carry a heavier payload, Daimler
has said.
Seven-Eleven Co Ltd of Japan, which in May became the first
announced commercial customer for the eCanter, plans to operate
25 of the trucks in its fleet, Mitsubishi Fuso said at the time.
Daimler is expected to disclose more details of its plans to
offer electric trucks in the United States at a news conference
in New York on Thursday, ahead of next week's conference there
on climate change.
Meanwhile, Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted on
Wednesday that the Silicon Valley company would show off a
prototype of an electric semi truck on Oct. 26 in Hawthorne,
California.
"Worth seeing this beast in person," Musk tweeted. "It's
unreal."
Reuters reported last month that Tesla's semi is expected to
offer a range of 200 to 300 miles, far less than the 1,000 miles
for some diesel-powered counterparts that U.S. long-haul
truckers use.
Tesla is also working on automation systems that would allow the
vehicle to drive itself and move in platoons of trucks that use
sensors and automated throttle and braking systems to follow
each other closely on the highway.
(Reporting by Joseph White; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
