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The mere mention of a ‘hybrid’ would once be met with sniggers from mocking petrol heads, however could it be that green cars are changing their expensive novelty image to one of practicality? With the aim of increasing electric car sales, the UK government recently announced details of the first nine cars to be eligible for grants of up to £5,000. The electric vehicle industry will further boost with the news that electric vans and trucks are to receive a cash injection in the US.

 

It seems that a prosperous future could lie ahead for electric vans and trucks with the falling of battery prices and an advancement in technology. The electric van and truck market has always been touted as a profitable market, but it lacked the necessary drive of funding. The stop-and-go nature of delivery driving combined with the standard practice of parking fleet vehicle on company property overnight make the electrification of fleet deployment vehicles a conceivable notion for businesses across the globe.

 

The US government recognized the potentially lucrative sector and awarded Navistar $39.2million grant as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to manufacture electric trucks in the U.S. Ultimately, the Navistar eStar was developed, a 100-mile-per-charge, 2-ton electric van. Most electric trucks are reconfigured from fuelled trucks, unlike the the eStar which is purposely built for electric power. Other leading manufactures such as vauxhall vivaro and Isuzu are yet to demonstrate a significant amount of interest in the UK.

 

The US government scheme to launch a competitive grant program for manufacturer prompted the involvement of IC buses, Holiday Rambler RVs and International Trucks within the market. However, the development of this industry from scratch will take time. It is estimated that 1 per cent of the 135,000 medium duty trucks purchased this year will be electric. Navistar have built 78 eStars thus far. With a low sales expectation in sales, and a non-existant market for electric lease vans Sales are expected to increase as the cost of batteries is expected to fall substantially within the next 5 to 10 years. Batteries currently amount to one-third of the cost of electric trucks but the drop in prices may lead to a lower sticker price.

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