The Electric Truck – A Viable Business Model

The Lion Electric Co. is an innovative manufacturer of zero emission vehicles. We design, develop and manufacture 100% electric buses, minibuses and short-haul trucks for school districts, special needs users, transit providers and more. As a leading electric vehicle maker in North America, we’re proud to present our new zero-emission short-haul urban truck, built on the reliable technology that we’re known for.

Our new all-electric short-haul truck delivers an impressive return on investment. The overall carrying and operating costs are significantly lower than those associated with a diesel truck. The long-term bottom line speaks for itself: over a 12-year period and without applying any government incentives, an electric truck generates approximately $197,000 in total savings.

Various government incentives are available to accelerate the return on your investment. The Ministry for the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change’s 2013-2020 Climate Change Action Plan includes measures to reduce the commercial transportation sector’s impact on the environment. These measures include the Écocamionnage (eco-trucking) program, which offers a subsidy totalling 50% of eligible expenses, with a maximum of $75,000 for the acquisition of a vehicle like the Lion8. Add the $75,000 from the Écocamionnage program to the savings mentioned earlier, and you get a total of $272,100 in savings per vehicle! What’s more, these vehicles are eligible for a 100-per-cent write-off from the federal government.

The Lion8 was designed, developed and manufactured to be 100% electric. That means no exhaust system, no particulate filter, no transmission and no oil changes—our Lion8 runs on a streamlined electric motor with very few components. What’s more, we’ve selected and installed components for optimal vehicle performance, resulting in an 80% reduction in energy costs and a 60% reduction in maintenance costs. As with all electric vehicles, the more you drive it, the better your value. We estimate that the cost of an electric dump truck, like the one we’re presenting at Impulsion Montréal, would be recovered within a 4-year period, depending on the distance traveled.

In Quebec, transportation accounts for 43% of our greenhouse gas emissions and commercial transportation alone accounts for 12% of our total emissions. Right now, an estimated 125,000 commercial vehicles operate on Quebec’s roadways, so if 50% of our commercial vehicles were to go electric, we would reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 6.25 million tonnes annually. Beyond being a cost-effective solution for businesses and a powerful tool in the fight against climate change, electric transportation also contributes to better physical health. Diesel emissions are known to have negative impacts on health: on top of being associated with increased risk for conditions like asthma and bronchitis, they contributed to 320 premature mortalities in Canada in 2015. Zero-emission commercial vehicles deliver on all fronts!

Given that dump trucks can consume up to 35,000 litres of diesel—that’s $40,000 in fuel—per year, they are prime candidates for electric conversion. Converting dump trucks to 100% electric models would save thousands of dollars in fuel, extend operating hours (goodbye engine noise!), and eliminate exhaust gases. It’s a winning solution that improves working conditions for drivers and builds cleaner, quieter urban environments.

We’re convinced that the transition to all-electric vehicles will improve our world in a major way. Commercial urban transportation has never been so good for our planet, our communities and our quality of life.

ELECTRIC TRANSPORTATION, THE TIME IS NOW!

This partner content was produced for Impulsion MTL 2019 – The International Fleet Management Forum.