North America’s vans and step vans could be electrified today: NACFE

Vans and step vans that represent about half the commercial vehicles on North American roads could be fully electrified using today's technology, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) has concluded. And electrifying all such vehicles in the U.S. and Canada would annually save nearly 18.9 billion liters of gasoline and 43.5 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the council added in its Electric Trucks Have Arrived report.

(Illustration: NACFE)

They're the latest findings to emerge from NACFE's Run on Less - Electric demonstration project, held in September 2021. Classes 3 to 6 vehicles account for an estimated 530,000 pieces of equipment in Canada, and 4.2 million vehicles in the U.S.

NACFE estimates 4.2 million of these vehicles are vans and step vans - and that the market for urban delivery vans could double between 2021 and 2026 thanks largely to growing demand for e-commerce deliveries. "As recently as five years ago, I would have questioned the feasibility of electrifying North American van and step van fleets," NACFE executive director Mike Roeth said in a press release. "The transition to cost parity happened quicker than most of us expected, and I'm as surprised as many to announce today that the electric market has arrived." Cost calculations included vehicles, energy use, maintenance, and sustainability metrics.

Battery packs available

"We should jump on this opportunity to electrify delivery vehicles, which will save money and significantly reduce emissions while advancing decisive climate action," added Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), NACFE's parent organization.

The report concludes that available battery packs to support Classes 3-6 vehicles don't affect cargo capacities or payloads. And since such vehicles are typically used in single-shift operations, support infrastructure does not require fast chargers. The report also stressed that such vehicles include health, safety and productivity benefits for drivers.

There is also a 'cool' factor that comes when drivers interact with the public, it said.

The Run on Less - Electric demonstration was conducted in September 2021, showcasing vans and step vans, medium-duty box trucks, terminal tractors, and heavy-duty regional haul tractors.

Vans included in the event included the Motiv EPIC Class 6 step van used by Purolator in Vancouver, the Lightning eMotors electrified Ford Transit, and the Workhorse C1000 Class 4 step van.