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2,500 electric trucks ordered in largest US deal to date
Catalyst Mobility, formerly CALSTART, and Smart Freight Center announced that a coalition of major cargo-owning shippers has enabled the largest electric truck order to date in the United States, covering 2,500 battery-electric Class 8 trucks.
The single deal nearly doubles the US electric Class 8 truck fleet, according to the two organizations.
Demand aggregation:
The order was organized through the Zero-Emission Truck Shipper-Carrier Alliance Leading Electrification (ZET SCALE), a program jointly operated by Catalyst Mobility and Smart Freight Center.
By aggregating freight demand at a scale no single company could reach independently, ZET SCALE aims to build a market for electric trucks, with an ambition to reach 10,000 trucks and beyond.
Founding shippers include Microsoft and PepsiCo, with each supporting the initiative through different levels of engagement and demand signaling.
Tesla selected:
Following an independent competitive request for proposals, the Alliance selected Tesla as its primary original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for the initial 2,500 trucks.
The selection followed an evaluation of price, range, charging capability and production capacity. Kenworth, RIDE and Volvo were also selected as secondary OEMs, giving carriers additional options based on their operational needs.
Catalyst Mobility President and CEO Michael Berube said the aggregated demand enabled manufacturers to price the trucks at scale.
“ZET SCALE is different because the demand was organized so manufacturers could price at scale,” Berube said, adding that this can help move clean trucks beyond the pilot phase.
Financing and deployment:
ZET Financial, a strategic partner to the Alliance, is issuing the purchase order for the initial 2,500 trucks and will deploy them through its fair market value lease program.
Its “ZET Lease” structure eliminates residual-value risk for fleet operators, addressing a barrier that has kept some carriers and fleets from adopting electric trucks.
The company also provides fleet analysis based on actual data, duty cycles and operational metrics, along with advisory services on infrastructure and charging solutions.
Freight hubs:
ZET SCALE will concentrate deployments in high-density freight hubs with strong initial routes and economics, aiming to increase utilization of both trucks and charging infrastructure and further reduce total cost of ownership.
The first round will primarily cover 10 locations: Southern California/Los Angeles, Northern California/Stockton, Central California/Bakersfield, Seattle/Tacoma, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Chicago area, Atlanta, and Northern New Jersey/Newark/New York City.
10,000-truck ambition:
The alliance aims to scale the model to 10,000 or more electric trucks and expand into additional regions.
The initiative is also recruiting more shipper and carrier partners to support further deployments and expand the market for electric freight vehicles.
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