First Student isn't messing around when it comes to its ambitions for school bus electrification – 30,000 school buses by 2035. At first glance, it may seem a bit pie-in-the-sky, but Kevin Matthews, head of electrification at First Student, assures that school buses may be the area that makes the most sense when it comes to fleet electrification opportunities in the U.S. "That number was not a 'throw darts at a dart board approach.' We also believe this [growth will be] a little bit shallower than a hockey stick, where when you get to around the year 2029 or 2030 we'll see a real uptick in th ..read more

Electric vehicle charging and grid management are both critical factors when it comes to handling the increased adoption rates of EVs. The fragmented nature of the electric utility industry mixed with the necessity for the intelligent management of EV charging on a hyperlocal level isn't an easy hurdle to cross – and it's hard to do it alone. The good news is that the industry is intimately aware of this, and partnerships are cropping up to intersect well-designed hardware with advanced grid management. The partnership between Wallbox and Weavegrid is one of those. WeaveGrid, a software comp ..read more

Electric vehicles have been steadily rising in popularity in the US for around a decade now, so surely consumers have had plenty of time to research and understand the differences in aspects like maintenance costs, range and government incentives, right? ...Right? The truth is, there are plenty of misconceptions about the current state of EVs, a topic that has recently been researched in-depth by CDK Global in the company's recently published whitepaper "EV Confusion Carries On." "When we talk about EVs in general as an industry, we know a lot of things are true and we talk about them on sh ..read more

What do you do when you're given a $1 million check to find an integrated Class 3-5 EV chassis? If you're working with The Shyft Group, you ask for $8 million more to develop one yourself. The Shyft Group is betting that by designing and manufacturing its own Class 3-5 Blue Arc chassis and bodies in-house from the ground up, using well-respected component suppliers like Dana for eAxles and Hendrickson for single leaf-spring suspensions, the company can lead the pack when it comes to electrifying commercial fleets. Considering the company recently secured an initial pre-order of 2,000 units fr ..read more

Everyone is talking about EVs, so getting caught up in the hype is easy. The problem is, EVs aren't yet suitable for every use case, and jumping into electrifying your fleet with eyes closed can have severe consequences. There's so much to think about: What are your routes? What infrastructure do you need? How much range do you need? The list goes on. Get the answer to any of these questions wrong and you might dig an electrified hole that isn't easy to escape. Fear not, though – there is help to be had. Geotab's EV Suitability Assessment Tool is a great place to start the journey. To wal ..read more

EV charging is easier said than done, and it's one of the biggest hurdles to successful full-scale EV adoption. Now, imagine you own a fleet of electrified vehicles. If you don't have the right infrastructure in place, your what-seemed-to-be solid EV investment is now one built on sand. On the surface, it can seem like that EV infrastructure rests solely on your shoulders – but it doesn't have to. "Charging-as-a-service" is more than just industry buzzwords. It offers the opportunity for businesses with fleets of EVs to stay focused on their core business instead of being a "charging ma ..read more

The best way to explain what it's like to drive an electrified vehicle is to convince them to get behind the wheel, and that's exactly what Volvo Trucks North America recently did for us during its Electromobility Summit in Dublin, Va. The one-pedal driving, the instant torque, the regen braking... we get the full experience – all while carrying a 79,000-lb. payload behind us. The goal for Volvo Trucks was to host customers, dealers and the media to dive into the nitty gritty of electric truck acquisition and operation–going beyond the VNR Electric truck itself to also discuss financial ..read more

You know that old saying "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again"? Keep that one in the back of your head as you watch this week's episode, because when it comes to installing charging infrastructure at scale, chances are you won't get far if you give up early on. It isn't easy. Installing charging infrastructure takes a lot of effort, time and money. But, West Michigan International – a truck dealer in Michigan – thought the reward would be worth the struggle, as the business hopes to use the chargers as a passive revenue source moving forward. To walk us through the ins and out ..read more

When people start talking about EVs, the big ol' lithium-ion battery tends to get a lot of the limelight. But EVs have dozens of other components needed to make them operate as expected, including another, smaller battery. Just like a car with an internal combustion engine, most EVs require a 12V battery in addition to the big one at center stage. In fact, the 12V battery is supremely important to successful EV operation. But why? And what makes a 12V battery in an EV different than one you'd find in any other vehicle? To answer our questions, we've invited Allison Lentz Bubar, SVP of market ..read more

Here's the definitive truth: As the technology stands today, electric vehicles are a fantastic fit for some applications and not so great for others. Last-mile delivery, those routes that bring a product from the warehouse shelf to the customer’s doorstep, happens to fall into that first category. EVs fit in so well here because last-mile offers defined routes that can be planned to maximize the electric vehicle’s range and recharging opportunities. We've already seen a few big names – including Walmart, FedEx and Amazon – jump into electrification with this application. So, now that ele ..read more