Panelists from Loblaw, R.R. Plett Trucking and Volvo Canada share what’s working and what needs to change for electrifying fleets

Earlier this month, Electric Autonomy partnered with Powering America’s Commercial Transportation (PACT), an industry education and advocacy coalition, on an informative webinar with Canadian industry leaders in electrified medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) fleets: Electric MHDV operations today and the road to expanding routes.

If you missed joining the live discussion, you can watch the recording here with Ilana Weitzman of Electric Autonomy, Trevor Plett of R.R. Plett Trucking, Daniel Truong of Loblaw Companies Limited and Steve Woodward of Volvo Trucks Canada as they discuss the benefits and challenges of electrified fleets in Canada.

The panel answered viewers’ questions on real-world electric MHDV use in commercial situations.

A key takeaway from the panel looks at how “superusers” succeed by optimizing routes and driver habits (like regenerative braking) around what electric trucks do best, rather than expecting them to fully replicate diesel operations.

Range and charging turnaround time remain the main limiting factors, though Loblaw is able to double-shift with opportunity charging during the day.

Both fleets said the chargers have to be planned and installed before the truck arrives. Early lessons include the need for redundancy in charging, as well as incorporating charging units into regular preventive maintenance.

R.R. Plett runs five DC fast chargers for eight trucks; Loblaw runs a roughly one-to-one plug-to-truck ratio.

“When we first started, we had one charger for the first six months or so. … If that charger went down … there’s no backup,” said Plett. “There’s no fuelling station down the street that we can use to keep our trucks moving.”

On Oct. 15, Electric Autonomy, PACT and PowerON Energy Solutions will present another free webinar called The Shared Depot Model for Commercial EV Charging. This episode will look at shared charging depots, comparing charge point operator (CPO)-run hubs and peer-to-peer arrangements in Canada and the U.S.

Panelists will include Suncheth Bhat, chief commercial officer of EV Realty, and Dave Jerman, account executive for PowerON Energy Solutions. The webinar will once again be moderated by Ilana Weitzman, vice-president of strategic development, clean transportation for Electric Autonomy.