Heavy Duty Trucking, February 2018

FUTURE FLEET HDT FEBRUARY 2018 30 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM If you need any more evidence that technology is moving into commercial vehicles at astonishing speed look no further than the CES consumer electronics show last month in Las Vegas Once the domain of geeks and gamers CES has evolved to become one of the most important venues for showcasing new and emerging technology attracting over 20000 attendees annually Increasingly automotive companies have been using the show to reveal high tech upcoming features and concepts But now commercial vehicles are getting their due The biggest splash was arguably Toyotas new e Palette concept vehicle which the company describes as a sort of highly adaptable multi use urban car van or truck depending on the owners preference Toyota is developing the e Palette in partnership with Amazon Uber and Pizza Hut which says a lot about the vehicles potential uses The design shown at CES has no windshield or set passenger seating arrangement But Toyota says the vehicle can be configured for multiple applications including delivery or passenger van a parcel delivery truck a mobile office or even a hotel room The concept vehicle is larger than the self driving taxis being tested by Alphabet spin off Waymo but smaller than the driverless semi trucks that Uber is working on a multipurpose urban runabout A further hint as to what the future of transportation and trucking is going to look like was revealed in comments made by Toyota President Akio Toyoda who told reporters at CES My aim is to change Toyota from an automobile company to a mobility company Our competitors are no longer those just making cars Companies like Google Apple and Facebook are what I think about at night UPS has reserved 125 Tesla Semis the new electric Class 8 truck recently unveiled by Elon Musk This topped the 100 truck order announced by PepsiCo and represents the largest publicly known order for the electric truck yet The new tractors will join UPSs alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet made up of trucks and tractors propelled by electricity natural gas propane and other non traditional fuels The first Tesla Semis are expected to roll off the assembly line in 2019 but UPS might not see all of its trucks right away as Tesla has a history of slowly ramping up production of its vehicles The company only managed to produce 260 of its new Model 3 electric cars in the third quarter of 2017 The Model 3 was announced in 2016 and was also initially sold through a reservation system similar to the Semi The base model Tesla Semi is priced at 150000 while a version with an advertised 500 mile range begins at 180000 It costs 20000 to pre order either model of Tesla Semi unless a buyer opts for the special edition Founders Series Tesla Semi which costs 200000 to reserve and buy The future of truck technology at CES UPS orders 125 Tesla electric trucks TuSimple a startup company developing autonomous trucking technology showcased its Level 4 autonomous truck at CES The China based company says this is the debut in the United States of its latest L4 trucks which are slated to hit the roads for testing in Arizona this year TuSimple will scale its efforts to commercialize self driving trucks in the United States by deploying additional Peterbilts Paccar was also at the show for the first time It used CES to show off Peterbilts Level 4 autonomous Model 579 tractor And Kenworth showed off its hydrogen fuel cell powered T680 day cab tractor which uses compressed hydrogen gas and air to produce electricity that is then used to drive the vehicle Kenworth says the truck will initially have a range of 150 miles and is designed for short haul and port operations The trucks electric motor can output 565 hp and is capable of carrying Class 8 loads The presence of commercial vehicles at such a high profile consumer electronics show is a clear sign that the industry is rapidly moving toward a more tech driven future And it will be interesting to see if additional truck OEMs choose to use the show next year to demonstrate even more advanced vehicle concepts For more than a century UPS has led the industry in testing and implementing new technologies for more efficient fleet operations said Juan Perez chief information and engineering officer We look forward to further expanding our commitment to fleet excellence with Tesla These groundbreaking electric tractors are poised to usher in a new era in improved safety reduced environmental impact and reduced cost of ownership Base model Tesla trucks are priced at 150000 An upgraded model with an advertised 500 mile range starts at 180000 Toyotas e Palette concept aims to be a fully automated next generation battery electric vehicle scalable and customizable for a range of mobility as a service businesses PHOTO JACK ROBERTS PHOTO TOYOTA