supplier scoop

Isuzu Exec Joins NTEA Board

Brian J. Tabel, executive director of marketing for Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., has been selected to serve a three-year term on the board of directors of National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA). Tabel is the first representative of an import chassis brand to be elected to the board in NTEA’s 59-year history. This announcement was made in mid-March during Work Truck Week 2023, North America’s largest work truck trade show, held at the Indiana Convention Center.

NTEA’s stated mission is “to further the knowledge, growth and profitability of the work truck industry.” Its 13-person board of directors provides organizational oversight, determines its future direction, sets policy positions, and secures the association’s fiscal health.

“With the increasing focus on zero-emission vehicles, our industry is about to experience significant evolution,” Tabel pointed out. “NTEA will need to offer more support and resources to members than ever before.”

Green Initiatives

Cummins has launched a new brand for its green and new power business, the company announced.

Named Accelera, it will focus on zero-emissions solutions for Cummins’ product portfolio, including hydrogen fuel cells, batteries, e-axles, traction systems and electrolyzers, to sustainably power a variety of industries. Amy Davis, who has led the New Power business unit since 2020, will serve as president of Accelera. She has previously served in a number of global and business leadership roles during her more than 25 years with Cummins.

Guardian is Growing

Guardian Fleet Services, a leading provider of towing, recovery, and specialized transportation services in the United States, has begun to expand beyond the state of Florida. The company acquired Emerald Transportation of Pompano Beach, FL, and Sapp’s Wrecker Service of Savannah, GA. In addition, Guardian Fleet Services announced that Chartwell Investments Entrepreneur & Founder Capital (CHIEF Cap- ◀ ital) has completed a major growth investment in the company to fund future expansion with financing arranged by Backcast Partners, including Morgan Stanley Private Credit and Source Capital. With the addition of Emerald Transportation and Sapp’s Wrecker Service, Guardian now has 23 locations and over 400 pieces of equipment in its fleet, offering service throughout Florida and now Georgia.

Source: guardianfleetservice.com

Global Electric Truck Market

Estimated to be 101,499 units in 2022, the global electric market is projected to grow 34.2% during the forecast period, to reach 1,067,985 units by 2030, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. The market for electric trucks is increasing due to factors such as increase in distribution services, last-mile delivery and government focus on reducing vehicle emissions.

The electric truck market is dominated by the NMC (Nickel Manganese Cobalt) battery as it is said to be the most efficient. Most market-leading Chinese OEMs use these batteries in electric trucks in their fleets. These batteries have a comparatively higher energy density than LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) batteries. Also, the cost of NMC batteries is declining and level with the cost of LFP batteries, thus, further boosting the NMC battery market. However, the demand for LFP is also on the rise in the forecasted period as the life of LFP batteries is longer than that of NMC batteries. Adoption of NMC batteries is expected to rise in the near future in European and American countries.

Light-duty trucks are dominant this segment of the market. OEMs such as Ford, GM, Rivian, and Tesla have developed these electric trucks. A large number of players like Bollinger Motors, Canoo, Nissan Motor Corporation, Hercules, and Alpha plan to enter this segment. Tesla, Inc. launched a futuristic angular armored electric pickup truck and a driving range of 500 miles. It also has a GVWR of ◀

10,000 lbs. The demand for light-duty electric trucks has increased due to the demand for low-emission intra-state commercial transport.

Request Free Sample Report: marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id= 260287840

Hino Goes to SEA

SEA Electric’s proprietary SEADrive power system is to be fitted to both the Hino Trucks’ M and L Series. This power-system was part of Project Z, Hino Trucks’ move into zero-emission vehicles in the medium-duty segment. In cultivating a diverse ecosystem of partners such as Hino Trucks, SEA Electric plans to work with different customers simultaneously, including upfitters, suppliers, and more, creating an opportunity to extend beyond our current markets, stated Tony Fairweather, SEA Electric CEO and Founder. For Hino Trucks, the announcement expands its range in a growing market.

“We are pleased to add SEA Electric’s SEA-Drive power-system to our M and L series product offering. As our industry introduces electric options, Hino Trucks can now offer an option for all the markets affected

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Craig R. Nadolny by ACT mandate,” said Glenn Ellis, President of Hino Trucks.

Further information on the SEADrive powered Hino Trucks M5e and L6e models is available at: https://www.hino.com/electricvehicle.html www.sea-electric.com

Commercial Truck Report

The National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) has released the second edition of the U.S. Commercial Vehicle Market Report. This semi-annual industry report delves into the details, data and trends around the life cycle of commercial vehicles, from chassis sales to truck registration to later stages when used vehicles re-enter the sales market. Topics covered include purchasing trends and forecasts by vehicle class, chassis and supply shortages, proliferation of electric commercial vehicles, and average vehicle age shifts. The Spring 2023 U.S. Commercial Vehicle Market Report is free to the industry. For the next edition of the Report, email: marketreport@ntea.com.

Ford Pro’s View of EVs

Despite spending $50 billion on electrification, and a goal of producing 600k EVs annually this year, Ford realizes that battery technology isn’t ready yet for certain types of vehicles. In particular, those that exceed a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of more than 8,500 pounds. As an example, the E-Transit is popular among certain commercial customers, but Ford Pro CEO Ted Cannis is not pushing fleet buyers toward electrification. He points out that Super Duty heavy trucks require a lot of energy moving up and down highways, and electric vehicles are not suitable for longer trips. Cannis admits that he doesn’t want to sell an electric truck or van that won’t let a job get done.

“They’re not all perfect,” Cannis noted. “They don’t do everything yet.” He added that while electric trucks do a lot of things better, for other things like towing long distances in the cold, they are not ideal. As Ford CEO Jim Farley has acknowledged, EVs aren’t for everyone at the moment, especially the Ford Super Duty customer. That’s precisely why the automaker will continue making ICE and hybrid vehicles, and offer hydrogen power as well later on.

2022 Analysis of Commercial Vehicle Market

After collecting national data on customization done to a chassis or van after being manufactured by an OEM, Work Truck Solutions released its 2022 analysis of the commercial vehicle market. Research on commercial vehicle (CV) sales compiled for 2022 on average prices, availability, mileage, and days to turn (DTT) confirmed that the supply chain was devastated by the global pandemic. The silver lining is a slow but steady recovery marked by four quarters of positive trends. The first quarter of 2022 may have been the turning point in the health of the automotive supply chain, and the outlook for the coming year is for continued recovery, although likely at a slow pace as there are still supply chain hurdles to overcome.

When examining used work trucks and vans, there were a couple of key takeaways. Used on-lot commercial inventory per dealer continued to skyrocket, reaching an all-time high for the past three years in Q4 2022 and marking a 144% increase over Q4 2021.

The increasing availability of new work trucks and vans is having an effect on used vehicle sales and pricing. For example, while the average price of a new CV reached an all-time high of $53,162 in Q4 of 2022, the average price of a used CV declined in both Q3 and Q4 of 2022, representing an 8.3% drop from Q2 2022.

Source: worktrucksolutions.com