Heavy equipment

Vespa parent company Piaggio just launched a new electric vehicle that’s loaded with advanced electronics, efficient drive systems, and the latest in autonomous technology. But don’t worry, it’s not coming for your jobs (yet). It’s called Kilo. Developed by the Piaggio Group‘s “Fast Forward” innovation lab and launched at the Modex trade show in Atlanta, Piaggio says its new robotic cart platform was designed to help businesses, “augment their workforce and enhance worker safety.” The Kilo robot…

This electric forklift concept by Japanese equipment giant Komatsu is powered by sodium-ion batteries and promises safer, cheaper operation than the competition. Sodium-ion batteries have been hailed as a possible alternative to more expensive lithium-ion batteries for a while, and have shown enough promise that EV leaders like BYD and Volkswagen-backed JAC have already spent big money developing the technology. Not to be outdone by the on-road guys, Komatsu recently unveiled this concept electric…

As other players in the electric commercial space push for ever-bigger batteries and faster charge timers, Freightliner is going the other way. It’s a bold move, and one that could pay off. Freightliner parent company Daimler says customer input and data helped drive development of the new FCCC MT50e model unveiled at Work Truck Week. That data, combined with input from utility companies and charging manufacturers, led them to take what many might consider a step backwards. A step towards smaller battery…

Daimler Truck subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Bus and Truck Corp. just launched their next-generation eCanter electric box truck in Hong Kong. It’s the first release of a new-generation Fuso in the Asian market outside of Japan. Mitsubishi Fuso left the US market in 2020, but before it did the company spent the better part of two decades at or near the top of the American medium-duty box truck market. In Europe, Indonesia, Taiwan, and New Zealand, the company has continued to put together solid sales, and…

The benefits of fleet electrification are well-known, but the question of feasibility is still very real in the minds of many heavy fleet managers. To help fleets understand how electric trucks can fit into their operations, Mack Trucks is offering a mobile off-grid charging system. Mack made the announcement earlier this week at the American Trucking Associations Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting, where they showed off renderings of a Mack MD Electric carrying a “renewable propane”…

DHL was the first major company to put an all-electric class 8 yard truck into service in 2015. Now, DHL has 50 electric yard trucks from Orange EV in its logistics fleet, with plans to fully phase out diesel trucks by 2025. Whether you call them terminal trucks, yard dogs, mules, or anything else, these heavy-duty trucks do work that’s ideally suited to electrification. It’s all low-speed, extreme-torque, short distance, high-precision operation, all the time. And the quiet, vibration-free, instant…

JCB has redesigned its S1932 electric drive scissor lifts with an eye towards making it easier to put to work, and easier to get to work, too. The updated JCB S1932ED scissor lift does everything the outgoing model did, but does it in a package that’s some 250 lbs. lighter than before. That reduced weight makes it easier to load the S1932ED on and off trailers and, at a “lightweight” 3,500 lbs., increases the number of vehicles capable of transporting it to and from job sites to includes the long-range…

Heavy equipment upstart Firstgreen was the first construction OEM to show off battery swap technology when it debuted its electric skid steer two years ago. Now, they’re in production – and the company says they can a job site running 24/7. Formerly called Kovaco Electric, we first covered Firstgreen earlier this year when the company introduced its Elise CBL as “the world’s first cabinless, remotely operated electric skid steer.” The Elise 900 shown here is mechanically similar to the CBL – but seems…

Image via NBC 9News. A lot of fuss was made this winter when some Tesla owners in Chicago experienced difficulty charging – but that wasn’t the experience for the majority of EV owners. In Colorado’s West Grand School District, electric school buses didn’t perform as well as their diesel counterparts. They performed better. The town of Kremmling, Colorado is one of the coldest towns in the country, where high altitudes and northen winds combine to drive morning temperatures in the winter…

Voltera Power announced a significant, $150 million expansion of its commercial electric vehicle charging infrastructure, with plans to double its number of managed charging depots in 2024. Voltera is best known for its clever managed charging depots, which the company builds, owns, and operates for the benefit of local electric fleets. Voltera then charges fleets for access to its chargers, which it maintains and manages to ensure maximum uptime. It’s a business model that’s already been put into…