WattEV opens US’s largest electric truck charge depot at nation’s largest port
WattEV has opened a 26-port charging depot directly at the Port of Long Beach to charge electric trucks at the United States’ busiest container port. It’s the nation’s largest heavy-duty public access charging station to date.
The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are situated directly next to each other and are the busiest container ports in the Western Hemisphere. The ports see thousands of trucks loaded, unloaded, and dispatched daily and are responsible for 40% of the nation’s containerized imports.
But the area around the Ports has particularly poor air quality, largely due to port activity. Those thousands of trucks run on diesel, contributing to smog, which gets blown into the LA Metro area by onshore winds and trapped by the mountains over the homes – and in the lungs – of 13 million people.
This was a major reason for California’s huge new truck emissions rules. Among other things, the regulations will require all new drayage trucks (those that move cargo around within a port or from ports to railyards or distribution centers) to be electric starting January 1, 2024 – less than six months from now.
But to service these trucks, they will need a lot of chargers. There are a total of some 20,000 trucks registered at the Port of Long Beach, and California will need 160,000 truck chargers to fuel the 180,000 trucks in the state by 2045, when it expects all trucking to be zero emissions.
WattEV and other companies have several charging depots planned to open in the near future to service Southern California distribution routes, but WattEV is the first to open on the actual property of the Port of Long Beach. It’s the first of four planned WattEV projects to open in Southern California.
The new charging depot has 13 dual-cord 360 kW CCS chargers, with a total capacity of 5 MW for the depot. WattEV plans to add another 8 MW of capacity once the upcoming “Megawatt Charge System” (MCS) gets implemented and trucks that use it become available, which the company expects around 2026. Currently, it takes about 2-3 hours to charge, compared to a standard 30-45 minute diesel truck stop break.
WattEV is using these chargers to fuel its “truck-as-a-service” concept, wherein the company offers electric trucking at a set price with lower startup costs. Currently, electric trucks are significantly more expensive to purchase than traditional diesel trucks, despite lower long-term running costs and lower total costs of ownership (and, of course, lower environmental costs for all of our lungs). However, startup costs can be prohibitive, especially for small owner-operators who make up such a large part of the industry. WattEV wants to solve that problem by offering a set-price operation at a comparable cost to running a diesel truck.
There are larger electric truck charging stations, like this recent 32-port station opened by Schneider, but those are “behind-the-fence” and used by private fleets. WattEV’s chargers are also public access and can be used (via credit card) for opportunity charging by other electric trucks operating at the port.
Electrek’s Take
Driving down to today’s opening, our only company on the 710 freeway consisted of semi trucks, in both directions. And as we got closer to the port, it got noisier, stinkier, and the air got less clear. It also happens to be a summer where heat records are being set all around the globe, seemingly every day. And during the event, the droning noise and smell of idling diesel trucks directly behind us made everything just a little bit harder.
If only there were one solution that could solve literally all of these problems at the same time. Can anyone think of it? Hmm…
But it’s going to take a lot of work to get us there. This property today is the largest public access charger in the US, but we’ll need hundreds of depots like this in California alone, and with future faster charging through MCS, in order to service the traffic coming in and out of the port and running through the state.
So we hope we’ll see many more openings like this and soon – to the point where it’s no longer interesting to write about them.
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Is it an electric van or a truck? The Kia PV5 might be in a class of its own. Kia’s electric van was recently spotted charging in public with an open bed, and it looks like a real truck.
Kia’s electric van morphs into a truck with an open bed
The PV5 is the first of a series of electric vans as part of Kia’s new Platform Beyond Vehicle business (PBV). Kia claims the PBVs are more than vans, they are “total mobility solutions,” equipped with Hyundai’s advanced software.
Based on the flexible new EV platform, E-GMP.S, Kia has several new variants in the pipeline, including camper vans, refrigerated trucks, luxury “Prime” models for passenger use, and an open bed model.
Kia launched the PV5 Passenger and Cargo in the UK earlier this year for business and personal use. We knew more were coming, but now we are getting a look at a new variant in public.
Although we got a brief glimpse of it earlier this month driving by in Korea, Kia’s electric van was spotted charging in public with an open bed.
The folks at HealerTV found the PV5 variant with an open bed parked in Korea, offering us a good look from all angles.
From the front, it resembles the Passenger and Cargo variants, featuring slim vertical LED headlights. However, from the side, it’s an entirely different vehicle. The truck sits low to the ground, similar to the one captured driving earlier this month.
When you look at it from the back, you can’t even tell it’s the PV5. It looks like any other cargo truck with an open bed.
The PV5 open bed measures 5,000 mm in length, 1,900 mm in width, and 2,000 mm in height, with a wheelbase of 3,000 mm. Although Kia has yet to say how big the bed will be, the reporter mentions it doesn’t look that deep, but it’s wide enough to carry a good load.
The open bed will be one of several PV5 variants that Kia plans to launch in Europe and Korea later this year, alongside the Passenger, Cargo, and Chassis Cab configurations.
In Europe, the PV5 Passenger is available with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, providing WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant is rated with a WLTP range of 181 miles or 247 miles.
Kia will reveal battery specs closer to launch for the open bed variant, but claims it “has the longest driving range among compact commercial EVs in its class.”
In 2027, Kia will launch the larger PV7, followed by an even bigger PV9 in 2029. There’s also a smaller PV1 in the works, which is expected to arrive sometime next year or in 2027.
What do you think of Kia’s electric van? Will it be a game changer? With plenty of variants on the way, it has a good chance. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: HealerTV
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Is Nissan raising the red flag? Nissan is cutting about 15% of its workforce and is now asking suppliers for more time to make payments.
Nissan starts job cuts, asks supplier to delay payments
As part of its recovery plan, Nissan announced in May that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs, or around 15% of its global workforce. It’s also closing several factories to free up cash and reduce costs.
Nissan said it will begin talks with employees at its Sunderland plant in the UK this week about voluntary retirement opportunities. The company is aiming to lay off around 250 workers.
The Sunderland plant is the largest employer in the city with around 6,000 workers and is critical piece to Nissan’s comeback. Nissan will build its next-gen electric vehicles at the facility, including the new LEAF, Juke, and Qashqai.
According to several emails and company documents (via Reuters), Nissan is also working with its suppliers to for more time to make payments.
“They could choose to be paid immediately or opt for a later payment,” Nissan said. The company explained in a statement to Reuters that it had incentivized some of its suppliers in Europe and the UK to accept more flexible payment terms, at no extra cost.
The emails show that the move would free up cash for the first quarter (April to June), similar to its request before the end of the financial year.
One employee said in an email to co-workers that Nissan was asking suppliers “again” to delay payments. The emails, viewed by Reuters, were exchanged between Nissan workers in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Nissan is taking immediate action as part of its recovery plan, aiming to turn things around, the company said in a statement.
“While we are taking these actions, we aim for sufficient liquidity to weather the costs of the turnaround actions and redeem bond maturities,” the company said.
Nissan didn’t comment on the internal discussions, but the emails did reveal it gave suppliers two options. They could either delay payments at a higher interest rate, or HSBC would make the payment, and Nissan would repay the bank with interest.
The company had 2.2 trillion yen ($15.2 billion) in cash and equivalents at the end of March, but it has around 700 billion yen ($4.9 billion) in debt that’s due later this year.
As part of Re:Nissan, the Japanese automaker’s recovery plan, Nissan looks to cut costs by 250 billion yen. By fiscal year 2026, it plans to return to profitability.
Electrek’s Take
With an aging vehicle lineup and a wave of new low-cost rivals from China, like BYD, Nissan is quickly falling behind.
Nissan is launching several new electric and hybrid vehicles over the next few years, including the next-gen LEAF, which is expected to help boost sales.
In China, the world’s largest EV market, Nissan’s first dedicated electric sedan, the N7, is off to a hot start with over 20,000 orders in 50 days.
The N7 will play a role in Nissan’s recovery efforts as it plans to export it to overseas markets. It will be one of nine new energy vehicles, including EVs and PHEVs, that Nissan plans to launch in China.
Can Nissan turn things around? Or will it continue falling behind the pack? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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