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Tesla has opened their planned Supercharger voting site, allowing the public to cast votes for upcoming Supercharger locations.

Tesla Superchargers have reached high penetration levels already – earlier this year, Tesla deployed its 35,000th Supercharger stall globally. This represents about a 35% year-over-year increase in the last few years. The Supercharger map shows that there are very few routes left uncovered by Tesla’s network, and Tesla dominates charging experience satisfaction compared to other charging networks.

But they’re still growing the network and hoping to fill in gaps, particularly on less-common travel roads away from the main interstate highway system.

So last month, Tesla decided to “crowdsource” their network development and sent out a tweet asking for location suggestions to be included in a voting system for upcoming Superchargers. The company included the locations that got the most “likes” in the poll. (Seth’s Bennington, Vermont, suggestion and Fred’s Shawinigan, Quebec, suggestion both made the cut, so if you can’t decide where to cast your fifth vote, those are a couple of Electrek’s suggestions.)

Today, Tesla has opened up that poll, and you can now vote on the 183 suggestions which made the cut. These locations seem to pretty much cover all the regions Teslas are available in – North America, Europe, Oceania, and Asia.

How to vote on Tesla Supercharger locations

In order to vote, you need to head to Tesla’s Supercharger voting site, log in to your Tesla account, and then look at the list and click on your top five suggestions.

Even non-Tesla owners can vote on the suggestions if they have a Tesla account, which could be important, especially given that Tesla is planning to open Superchargers to non-Tesla EVs (and is running a trial of the same thing in Europe).

It seems that this system will be persistent, as well – each person gets five votes during every three-month voting cycle. After three months, votes are reset, and you can vote again. Tesla is taking suggestions for more new locations as well, and popular suggestions will be added to the next three-month voting round.

Tesla says that these votes will “help us decide on new Supercharger locations” – so the votes aren’t, in a sense, “binding” for the company. It’s merely another way for them to gather information about what routes the public might be having difficulty with on top of the large amounts of information they gather from the public fleet of vehicles and from current Supercharger station use.

And Tesla still has its own plans for Supercharger deployment – the company briefly leaked all upcoming Supercharger locations earlier this month, so development is still happening regardless of this vote.

Electrek’s Take

There are some parts of the country where noninterstate routes have very little Supercharger coverage. Particularly, North-South routes in the Great Plains region have little coverage.

But in other parts of the country, like rural Northern California and the Oregon coast, even off-interstate drives are still extremely easy to do, as I recently showed on a 2,200-mile electric road trip with no prep and almost no time spent waiting for charging. (Hopefully, we’ll get more sites like the excellent Harrisburg, Oregon, Supercharger and their food truck/wine tasting table!)

So this is a good move by Tesla because there are definitely some routes that can still be difficult, and this will help fill in gaps that they can’t fill by reading fleet data alone.

However, I think there could also be a public relations reason for this. Any time someone gives Tesla flack for not having a Supercharger in their pet location, Tesla can now point at the poll and say, “OK, go vote for it.” This could take a minor amount of heat off the company because now it’s the voters’ fault for not voting enough, rather than their fault for not installing at such-and-such niche location.

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Workhorse electric delivery vans arrive in Canada this spring

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Workhorse electric delivery vans arrive in Canada this spring

Following approval from Transport Canada, EV startup Workhorse will be bringing the W56 and W750 model electric delivery vans to commercial truck dealers in Canada as early as this spring.

Workhorse first showed its W56 medium-duty electric truck at Indiana’s Work Truck Week in 2023, and has sold the trucks to logistics and delivery companies like FedEx and Pride Group – which ordered more than six thousand of the electric vans in 2021, and continues to expand its fleet.

“This is a major step forward for Workhorse,” says Josh Anderson, Workhorse’s chief technology officer in a press statement. “Pre-clearance from Transport Canada opens up a large new market for our products throughout Canada, including with fleets that operate across borders in North America.”

As part of the approval process, Workhorse completed its registration as a foreign manufacturer under Transport Canada’s Appendix G clearance program. Transport Canada confirmed the vans’ compliance with Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) for both vehicles – but it remains to be seen if and how the latest tariff-driven trade war between the Trump Administration’s US and Canada will impact Workhorse’s plans to expand throughout North America.

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Despite that uncertainty, Workhorse execs remain upbeat. “We’re excited that our electric step vans can now reach Canadian roads and highways, providing reliable, zero-emission solutions that customers can depend on,” added Anderson.

Canadian pricing has yet to be announced.

Electrek’s Take

FedEx Places First Order for 15 Workhorse W56 Step Vans to Grow Zero-Tailpipe Emission Fleet
FedEx electric delivery vehicle; via Workhorse.

There’s no other way to say it: the Trump/Musk co-presidency is disrupting a lot of companies’ plans – and that’s especially true across North American borders. But in all this chaos and turmoil there undoubtedly lies opportunity, and it will be interesting to see who ends up on top.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Workhorse, via Electric Autonomy Canada.

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Liebherr developing giant, 140-ton Segway-style autonomous haulers [video]

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Liebherr developing giant, 140-ton Segway-style autonomous haulers [video]

The new Liebherr S1 Vision 140-ton hauler is unlike any heavy haul truck currently on the market – primarily because the giant, self-propelled, single-axle autonomous bucket doesn’t look anything like any truck you’ve ever seen.

Liebherr says its latest heavy equipment concept was born from a desire to rethink truck design with a focus only on core functions. The resulting S1 Vision is primarily just a single axle with two powerful electric motors sending power to a pair of massive airless tires designed carry loads up to 131 tonnes (just over 140 tons).

The design enables rapid maintenance, as important components easily accessible for quick servicing. Wear parts can be replaced efficiently, and the electric drive significantly reduces maintenance work. This helps to minimise downtimes and increases operational efficiency.

LIEBHERR

Because of its versatility, durability, and ability to perform zero-turn maneuvers that other equipment simply can’t, the Liebherr S1 Vision can be adapted for various applications, including earthmoving, mining, and even agriculture. There’s also a nonzero chance of this technology finding applications supporting other on-site equipment through charging or fuel delivery.

The S1 accomplishes that trick safely with the help of an automatic load leveling system that ensures maximum stability, even on bumpy or rough terrain. The company says this technology significantly reduces the risk of tipping while providing smooth and secure operation across various environments.

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Liebherr will show the S1 Vision at this year’s bauma equipment exhibition in Munich, Germany. The design has already been nominated for the bauma Innovation Award in the Mechanical Engineering category – and my money’s on it winning.

Electrek’s Take

This is such goofy, stupid fun that if it was wheelbarrow-sized I’d have three of them. I can’t imagine the insanity of watching one of these things roll across a job site with 100 tons of granite in the bucket – and will have nightmares about the kind of damage it could do if it flipped out like a poorly made Chinese hoverboard clone whipping a toddler across a living room … which, in fairness, would probably get a billion views on Instagram or TikTok or whatever.

I can’t wait.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Liebherr.

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Meet the newest EV from Hyundai – new HX19e electric excavator

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Meet the newest EV from Hyundai – new HX19e electric excavator

The HD arm of Hyundai has just released the first official images of the new, battery-electric HX19e mini excavator – the first ever production electric excavator from the global South Korean manufacturer.

The HX19e will be the first all-electric asset to enter series production at Hyundai Construction Equipment, with manufacturing set to begin this April.

The new HX19e will be offered with either a 32 kWh or 40 kWh li-ion battery pack – which, according to Hyundai, is nearly double the capacity offered by its nearest competitor (pretty sure that’s not correct –Ed.). The 40kWh battery allows for up to 6 hours and 40 minutes of continuous operation between charges, with a break time top-up on delivering full shift usability.

Those batteries send power to a 13 kW (17.5 hp) electric motor that drives an open-center hydraulic system. Hyundai claims the system delivers job site performance that is at least equal to, if not better than, that of its diesel-powered HX19A mini excavator.

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To that end, the Hyundai XH19e offers the same 16 kN bucket breakout force and a slightly higher 9.4 kN (just over 2100 lb-ft) dipper arm breakout force. The maximum digging depth is 7.6 feet, and the maximum digging reach is 12.9 feet. Hyundai will offer the new electric excavator with just four selectable options:

  • enclosed cab vs. open canopy
  • 32 or 40 kWh battery capacity

All HX19es will ship with a high standard specification that includes safety valves on the main boom, dipper arm, and dozer blade hydraulic cylinders, as well as two-way auxiliary hydraulic piping allows the machine to be used with a range of commercially available implements. The hydraulics needed to operate a quick coupler, LED booms lights, rotating beacons, an MP3 radio with USB connectivity, and an operator’s seat with mechanical suspension are also standard.

Like its counterparts at Volvo CE, the new Hyundai excavator uses automotive-style charging ports to take advantage of existing infrastructure at fleet depots and public charging stations. More detailed specifications, dimensions, and pricing should be announced by bauma.

Electrek’s Take

HX19e electric mini excavator; via Hyundai Construction Equipment.

The ability to operate indoors, underground, or in environments like zoos and hospitals were keeping noise levels down is of critical importance to the success of an operation makes electric equipment assets like these coming from Hyundai a must-have for fleet operators and construction crews that hope to remain competitive in the face of ever-increasing noise regulations. The fact that these are cleaner, safer, and cheaper to operate is just icing on that cake.

SOURCE | IMAGES: HD Hyundai; via Construction Index, Equipment World.

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