Electric Buses and Trucks: Increasing the Uptake of Heavy Electric Vehicles

We know that buses and trucks must take the slow lane when they’re driving up a highway – but are they also destined to be stuck in the slow lane on the road to electrification?

From transporting thousands of people across cities to delivering food to communities, heavy vehicles play a major role in society. However, this doesn’t excuse the fact that they’re accountable for 35% of CO2 emissions from road transport.  

Whilst heavy vehicle electrification is not without its challenges, buses and trucks must not be left out of the EV conversation to achieve our goal of net zero of 2050. Globally, sales of electric trucks are outpacing that of buses, and this trend is reflected in Australia as well. 

The case for electric buses 

It took the city of Shenzen in China less than a decade to electrify their fleet of over 16,000 buses – which is double the number of buses servicing Sydney. In Australia, we’ve seen each of our state and territory governments pledge to move to zero emission technologies by 2050, and some private sector operators have followed suit.  

There are around 22 models of electric buses available currently on the Australian market. Right now, only 0.2% of Australian buses are electric, even though research suggests that the cost to operate an electric bus over an eighteen-year service life is an astounding $1 million less than their diesel counterparts. Electric buses are quieter and produce less emissions, which is great for reducing the noise and sound pollution of cities.  

Sydney is already reaping the benefits of electric buses from a trial on some of their busiest routes and has excitingly powered it via exclusively renewable energy from a solar farm. They’ve reported a 72% reduction in daily running costs in comparison to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles. The results of customer surveys from NSW electric bus passengers suggested that they were more likely to increase their bus usage as a result of the change. 

Without trucks, Australia stops 

We’ve all spotted the little sign on the back of a b-double when sitting behind them in traffic, and it’s true – trucks play a key role in transporting goods to our population centers across huge distances. However, the last thing we want is for this slogan to take a new meaning, and slow truck electrification progress prevent Australia from reaching net zero by 2050.  

The logistics company Team Global Express has the largest fleet of EV trucks and currently has around 360 individual units. Currently, around 0.5% of new truck sales are electric within Australia, although this value is increasing year on year. 

Despite making up a small portion of Australian sales, electric trucks’ noise levels are around 8x lower than diesel alternatives, and they can effectively reduce noise and air pollution in cities. Alongside this, they offer increased driver comfort and a competitive cost of ownership.  

So, why do sales of both electric trucks and buses still make up only a small percentage of Australia’s heavy vehicle fleet? The answer involves a combination of the high upfront asset cost, as well as a lack of national coordination of regulation and infrastructure.  

If you have any questions about EVOS’s energy management solutions, reach out to our friendly sales team at sayhi@evos.com.au