Original text too short.
Volkswagens trucking division Traton doubles down on battery electric trucks instead of hydrogen, asks new German government to support a charging network for trucks
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Translation:
> VW’s commercial vehicle holding company Traton is calling on the future German government to provide more support for electric trucks. The group’s subsidiaries MAN and Scania are “fully committed to the battery in long-distance transport,” said Traton CEO Christian Levin. Now, he said, “everything must be done to create an efficient charging network for e-trucks within the framework of the new legislative period.”
> Brussels will soon decide on new specifications, he said. “If no suitable measures are agreed here with regard to charging and connection power, as well as binding minimum distances between e-truck charging stations, we as an industry will have a problem. A new federal government should be aware of this,” Levin said. He expects “a strong signal from the politicians now to go down this path together with the commercial vehicle industry.”
> Traton does want to work with rivals Daimler and Volvo to build a network of 1700 charging points for long-distance e-trucks in the EU. But Daimler Truck Board Member Karin Rådström said Wednesday, “Especially for CO2-neutral long-distance transport with heavy trucks, hydrogen-powered fuel cell drive will be indispensable in the future.” Daimler plans to hand over the first production vehicles to customers in 2027.
> In contrast, Levin said, “The use of hydrogen-based fuel cells will be limited due to high energy costs and uncertain availability in the truck sector.” He also said the battery’s higher efficiency is unbeatable in long-haul applications. Cell technology is making enormous progress. By the middle of the decade, e-trucks would come to a price level with diesel trucks.
> With a CO2-based toll, politicians could provide further strong incentives, the Traton boss said. Many haulers would also switch immediately if an electric vehicle were allowed to make night deliveries to supermarkets.
I also find the last sentence interesting. That would be an easy way without any additional costs to the tax payers to incentivise the use of electric trucks.
Charging infrastructure for trucks will be a huge task. We can’t even provide enough parking spaces for trucks for their mandatory rest breaks. Currently over 20.000 truck drivers can’t find a proper parking spot for the night. First we need hundreds of new truck stops/rest areas along the Autobahn before we can really think about adding charging infrastructure