Truck drivers throughout the country are not happy about the environmental regulations that the Biden administration finalized recently that seek to force the sector of heavy-duty vehicles to switch to all-electric models.
Truckers have said that the technology that powers these heavy-duty EVs isn’t advanced at a level to where they can replace the diesel-powered fleet that is currently on the road.
There are particular concerns regarding limitations on their batteries, including concerns about how they might perform in cold weather or in shorter ranges. The truck drivers also say that there isn’t significant infrastructure available to charge these high-powered vehicles.
Mike Nichols, an owner-operator out of Wisconsin who’s been in business for 30 years, spoke to Fox News Digital recently, saying:
“Even if they subsidized the cost of the electric vehicle 100%, I still would refuse because I still would go broke. That’s how useless they are. If they gave me one of these things, I still wouldn’t take it.
“EV trucks don’t do as much work. They’re heavier, so they can’t haul as much. They don’t go as far. They take longer to charge. … So, you’re going to need more trucks on the road, which is completely the opposite of what we would want if we were actually concerned about bettering our society.”
If he had to use an EV, Nichols said that he wouldn’t be able to properly run his business.
The Environmental Protection Agency finalized new regulations on Friday that will apply starting in 2026 for any vehicles with the model year 2027. Gradually, the regulations will become more stringent through the model year of 2032.
They will affect short- and long-haul tractor-trailers and vocational trucks such as delivery vehicles, public transit buses and school buses, garbage trucks, fire trucks, concrete trucks and more.
Previously, the EPA projected that these new standards might lead to a lot more EVs being produced in these vehicle sectors — 50% for vocational trucks, 25% for long-haul tractor-trailers and 35% for short-haul tractor-trailers.
The average range of a semi-truck that’s powered by diesel is 1,500 to 2,000 miles, though that depends on the size of the gas tank and the miles-per-gallon. Many of the EV versions of these vehicles only have a range of about 330 miles, according to Ptolemus Consulting Group, which compiled data about the industry.
The Semi model produced by Tesla has a range of about 500 miles, and it’s the highest-end EV semi-truck.
The data also revealed that EV trucks could take up to three hours to charge fully. Diesel tanks in these trucks take only about 20 minutes to fill, at the most.
Another major challenge for the industry is that the EV versions of these trucks cost about $300,000 on average, which is twice the price of traditional diesel-powered vehicles, according to the International Council on Clean Transportation.
So, not only are these electric vehicles less efficient for trucking purposes, they are significantly more expensive.
