Electric Trucks, Connected Vehicles Disrupt Auto Industry

Technological advancements, supply chain disruptions, and safety, environmental, and other sociopolitical factors are changing the way people and products move around the country. Manufacturers are leveraging technology, new business models, and infrastructure improvements to chart a future path.

Electric vehicles (EV) are comprising a greater share of the consumer market, making up 2.4% of new vehicle registrations in the first six months of 2021, according to Experian — more than double the corresponding percentage from the first half of 2020. Auto manufacturers are looking to apply the same technologies and concepts to the commercial market. Research and Markets projects a compound annual growth rate of nearly 150% for the electric truck market between 2020 and 2026, driven by efficiency and a global focus on reducing emissions, while the electric bus market is projected to grow by nearly 50% during the same period.

Meanwhile, companies are working constantly to improve communication between vehicle sensors and cloud databases to enhance safety and the driving experience — and Virginia companies and organizations are at the forefront of that research. Here’s how innovators are creating the cars, trucks, and roads of the future.

Building Electric Commercial Trucks

Volvo Trucks North America’s VNR Electric went on sale in late 2020. It’s among the first of a variety of electrically powered commercial trucks seeking to displace diesel trucks in the regional delivery market — and it’s built at Volvo’s manufacturing plant in Pulaski County in the New River Valley.

The VNR is a Class 8 vehicle, the kind of semi truck you see hauling inventory to retailers, restaurants, and warehouses. The elements of these supply chains typically operate within a 100–300-mile area, potentially matching the range of electric trucks.

The VNR Electric has a maximum 150-mile range, although in practice, the maximum distance it will go between charges will vary based on factors including payload, terrain, and weather. Recharging times vary based on the type of charger used.

As a commercial truck, the VNR Electric has higher power needs than an electric car. It uses direct-current charging rather than the more familiar alternating-current chargers used to charge consumer EVs. Since there are few such chargers in operation, VNR Electric operators typically need to have them at their own locations, adding the cost of installing such infrastructure to the cost of the truck. Volvo has taken pains to simplify the transition between diesel trucks and the VNR Electric.

“We don’t want to make anything radically different in terms of what drivers are used to,” said Brett Pope, director of electric vehicles for Volvo Trucks North America. “They’ll find very similar characteristics to the trucks of today."

Those similarities begin with power output. The VNR Electric's two electric motors produce 370 kilowatts, or about 450 horsepower, a common figure for diesel trucks. The 4,051 foot-pounds of torque they produce is substantially more than most diesels, although it's offset somewhat by the VNR's heavier weight (about 4,000 pounds more than a comparable diesel).

That torque makes the driving experience a bit “more peppy” than current trucks, as Pope puts it. Rather than a 10- or 12-speed transmission, the VNR Electric needs only an automatically shifted low- and high-gear transmission.

“It shifts into second gear somewhere around 20–24 mph, and that’s it,” Pope says. “You don’t have that rocking that exists in the current [trucks]. The engine noise in the cab goes away, the vibration settles down.”

Volvo has also developed a simulation tool to analyze routes and loading patterns to determine a customer’s individual needs. The tool allows the company to advise customers on purchase and lease options and set expectations for battery costs.

For now, electric trucks’ market share depends on individual customers’ needs, location, and motivations. But production of the VNR Electric has ramped up in Pulaski County, and the trucks are already on the road with several customers in California and New York.

Converting Big Rigs to New Powerplants

Trova Commercial Vehicles is in its infancy. But the company’s plan to enter the heavy-duty truck sector by converting existing trucks from diesel to electric power using its proprietary modular chassis — like Volvo’s electric trucks, manufactured in Pulaski County — could be a speedy way into the OEM market.

There are about 4.6 million diesel-powered Class 7/8 trucks (26,000–33,000 pounds gross weight) operating in the United States, with an average age of eight years. The Biden administration has expressed a goal of significantly reducing America’s carbon dioxide emissions by the 2030s, a target that will require greater emphasis on power generation and static emissions, rather than cars and trucks, which account for 12–15% of overall CO₂ output.

Nonetheless, transportation garners most of the public attention. “If you ever want to reach the lofty emissions goals out there, whether by 2030 or 2035, every OEM must already have a very solid zero-emission pipeline in place,” said Trova founder and CEO Patrick Collignon, a former Volvo Trucks North and South America COO.

Complicating that goal is the fact that the heavy truck market is a mature one. With slow growth and a relatively old trucking fleet, selling new alternatively powered trucks may not be enough to meet emissions goals. Trova estimates there are 400,000 trucks in the United States that would benefit on cost efficiency (without subsidies) and emissions grounds from a driveline transplant to electric.

Volvo Trucks North America, Pulaski County

The process of converting a heavy-duty truck to electric (or other alternative power) begins with Trova’s modular chassis. The company takes an existing truck and removes its cab body, steering architecture, hydraulics, and other peripherals, and transfers them to its own modular chassis.

Conventional diesel truck chassis are not designed for electric drivetrains and, among other adaptations, typically require placing batteries outside the chassis rails, where they’re more vulnerable to damage from accidents, road debris, or the environment. Trova’s modular chassis places the batteries inside the frame rails. Collignon estimates that the transplant can be done in 48 hours.

Trova expects to debut its full conversion prototype in 2022. The company is still building its first modular chassis, with a customer lined up, and has begun a second.

The first application for its converted electric trucks will be in the regional haul (200-mile range) market, where heavy-duty box trucks and day cabs dominate, while Trova and other companies continue to work on a battery that will enable long-range electric trucking.

“This is as exciting as it will get in my lifetime,” Collignon said. “Let’s make sure we secure this new industry here — that Virginia is not going to be looking out the window as the train leaves the station.”

Connecting Vehicles to Improve Safety

While electric vehicles tantalize with the possibility of cleaner power, other disruptive automotive technologies are delving into the data that various auto parts and components produce the entire time a vehicle is powered up.