NEWSNOTES | July 2, 2024
News Notes

School bus manufacturer Blue Bird has been enjoying month-over-month growth in electric vehicle (EV) sales. Their stock price has increased more than 100 percent since January. Last year, Blue Bird workers voted to join a union, resulting in higher pay and expanded benefits. Blue Bird and Ford Motor Company share a commitment to EVs. Ford CEO Jim Farley’s rallying cry is for consumers to give EVs a chance. His enthusiasm shines off the page as he talks about falling in love with EVs and the importance of innovation coming from the U.S. and not ceding leadership to other regions in the world.

Martin Brower is a key distributor with McDonald’s in prioritizing sustainability. As such, Martin Brower is receiving ten additional Volvo VNR Class 8 electric vehicles in Canada. Of those, seven will operate in Toronto and three in Montreal. McDonald’s goal is to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050. Walmart Canada has added a Nikola hydrogen fuel cell electric semi-truck to its fleet, which will be stationed in Mississauga. Walmart wants its entire fleet to be zero-emission by 2040.

From design and finance to operations and maintenance, infrastructure is top of mind for many in the clean transportation space. Transport Topics focuses on what that means for electric truck deployment and suggests that the top priority should be where to plug them. Ryan Bankerd, Corporate Director of Automotive Sustainability for UPS, is one of the fleet experts weighing in on the topic. Bankerd points out the importance of partnering with a utility, government agencies, and the fleet.  

The California Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced a joint investment of $25 million, together with regional air quality authorities, to build out charging infrastructure for heavy-duty drayage trucks. The result could be as many as 207 chargers deployed across eight sites. This is an initiative of the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee.

FreightWaves asks the question, “Can wireless EV charging become an infrastructure player?” While it is still in an experimental stage, plenty of companies see inductive charging as a viable solution. Wave Charging and Induct EV are leaders in this space in the U.S. The collaboration of Wave with Dana Inc. and Kenworth Trucks resulted in the first OEM-approved high-power wireless charging integration into Kenworth Class 6 electric trucks. 

RESOURCES 

• Blue Bird is Schooling EV Skeptics, Stock Soars, Newsweek
• Ford CEO Rallies Behind EVs, Teslarati
• McDonald’s Puts 10 Volvo VNR  Electric Trucks to Work, electrek
• Walmart Canada Introduces Nikola Hydrogen Fuel Cell EV Semi-truck, Fleet Owner
• Infrastructure Top Issue for Electric Truck Deployment, Transport Topics
• LA and LB Ports Invest $25M in Charging, Global Trade
• Can Wireless EV Charging Become an Infrastructure Player, FreightWaves
• CALSTART Members Only Funding Roundtable Conversation, CALSTART