Will Electric Trucks Replace Diesel Trucks in the Future?

Future of electric vehicles

Before comparing Diesel trucks and Electric trucks,

If we talk about the Automotive World, electric vehicles are being introduced in India by various existing and new car manufacturers. The Indian population is slowly adapting towards the idea of electrical mobility. 

There are very promising developments in the sector of commercial EV vehicles. Many new electrical trucks are said to be launched in India in the upcoming years. This aim is for electricity to replace petrol and diesel engines in every vehicle we drive. 

The environmental advantages of an EV are pretty simple, but is an electric truck a better option for you to drive than a diesel truck? Let us identify the advantages of both electric and diesel powered trucks.

 

Advantages of Diesel Trucks:

1. A diesel engine is capable of lasting longer while an EV motor might need time to time maintenance as it needs to be protected from water damage. Diesel, other than the fuel, also acts as a lubricant and prevents the engine parts from wear and tear due to friction simultaneously.

 

      2. You can drive and travel farther with a diesel truck as compared to an EV version. If you fill up the diesel fuel tank to its full capacity, you get twice as much of the driving range as compared to an EV battery charged to its maximum. 

 

      3. An electric truck battery will usually take hours to be charged at its maximum level while it only takes a few minutes to fill up the tank of a diesel truck to its full capacity.

 

      4. Apart from Light commercial vehicles, the electrical motor technology is still far from being used to power heavy commercial vehicles as it will prove to be costly and inefficient to make quick routes back and forth as it will take a lot of hours to charge a bigger electric truck. 

 

      5. The size of a carrier, the hauling capacity and weight differ in both diesel trucks and electric trucks. The loading capacity is usually more in diesel powered trucks as they have larger truck beds in the back. 

 

Advantages of Electric Trucks:

1. First of all, when it comes to pricing and affordability, electric vehicles are 40% above the price of a diesel or petrol vehicle, but it saves you a lot of maintenance cost and gas money in the long run. 

 

      2. Another advantage of an electric truck is that electric motors deliver instant torque to the vehicle. This makes it highly beneficial for the medium commercial vehicles which need to perform in rugged terrains and muddy industrial areas.

 

      3. Apart from the shorter bed, electric vehicles compensate for it with the amazing in-built and clever storage options that makes it very easy to store different sized goods in various storage sections in the electric truck. 

 

     4. The main advantage of an electric commercial vehicle is the environmental benefits it provides by eliminating the emission of harmful fumes and gasses which results in global warming.

 

Now comes the question, will  commercial vehicles go electric in the coming future?

There are very few options of electric trucks that fit into the normal pricing structure and build in the electric truck market. Electric trucks might provide instant power, but that doesn’t make them better than diesel trucks at doing truck stuff when it comes to hauling heavy payload like many HCVs.

If we talk about daily driving and regular activities, an electric truck is more environmentally-friendly, gives you instant torque, and offers some impressive storage features. Therefore an electric motor might be a good option in Light Commercial Vehicles only if they are available at standard affordable prices.

Also, the electrical and chassis truck spare parts are easily available for diesel trucks as electric trucks are relatively new in the transport industry and have a different set of chassis and motor parts.