Feasibility of Battery Electric Pickup Trucks in a State Department of Transportation Fleet

Abstract

Vehicle manufacturers are beginning to introduce battery electric pickup trucks, with at least three models in production in the United States and at least six others announced. Unlike hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles, which use batteries to supplement an internal combustion engine, battery electric vehicles are fully reliant on their batteries and have significantly shorter ranges, fewer refueling/recharging options, and may experience shorter ranges under towing, mountain driving, and temperature extremes. This study investigated real-world pickup truck usage data from a large state department of transportation to determine whether battery electric trucks could effectively replace trucks based on manufacturer-stated range as well as early field tests of actual vehicle range under various speeds, idling scenarios, and weather conditions. The results indicated that 97% of pickup truck day trips could be completed on a standard range battery, and 99% on an extended range battery. Among tracked department of transportation fleet pickup trucks, 31% could be replaced by a standard range electric truck with no change in operation; and up to 64% of the fleet with an extended range could be replaced by an extended range electric truck. Dynamically assigning long trips to dedicated conventional engine pickup trucks could further reduce the number of nonelectric trucks required by half.