Range Energy’s electric trailer helps egg farm improve mpg by ‘up to 70%’
Range Energy’s electric trailer, which allows fleets to effectively hybridize by adding a battery and motor to the trailer, has been put into service by Petaluma Egg Farm to improve efficiency of its diesel shipping fleet by 50-70%.
The concept behind Range Energy’s trailer is relatively simple. Instead of the diesel-engine tractor having to do all the work to pull the trailer, Range adds a battery and motor to the trailer to help it push its own weight forward, effectively cutting the amount of weight the diesel engine has to pull and therefore increasing efficiency.
It sounds like a bit of a hack, but the purpose behind it is that electric tractors are quite expensive and are still ramping up in production. Meanwhile, trucking companies already have working diesel tractors that could be expected to have many years of life left, and aren’t necessarily excited to scrap their expensive tractors for an expensive new electric one.
While the swap works out for many companies, especially if it fits into the fleet buying timeline and a company is ready to replace its diesel trucks, there are other fleets that might benefit from an easier, more short-term drop-in solution.
And that’s what Range Energy’s trailer provides, because it doesn’t require any sort of retrofitting of the diesel engine, it’s just a pick-up-and-go solution.
It works with what Range calls the “smart kingpin,” which is packed with sensors to tell the trailer how hard the tractor is pulling. It then adds its own torque proportional to the amount the tractor is asking for, making loads feel lighter.
We got a chance to see a demo of it in action at ACT Expo last year, and let me say, it was one of the coolest demos I’ve experienced.
Since then, Range has had its trailer validated through independent testing, which said it can improve efficiency by 36% in average use cases. Given that fuel costs are a large part of any trucking company’s outlays, and that diesel fuel burned in heavy duty vehicles creates an outsized portion of smog-forming pollutants, this is a quick way to get some real improvements.
The trailer can also be used on electric trucks as an impromptu “range extender,” essentially just adding a larger battery carried by the trailer, in addition to whatever amount of energy storage the tractor has onboard.
There are some other companies with a similar solution, including a company called Trailer Dynamics in Germany. But the US and European markets are different, so there’s room for both in this realm.
Petaluma Egg Farm improves mpg by “50-70%” with electrified trailers
The news today is that Range Energy’s trailer has been put into service in a real-world test, including taking advantage of its large battery for refrigeration. Refrigerated or “reefer” trucks are used widely throughout the industry, but this is the first order Range has gotten for its electrified reefer solution.
The company in question is Petaluma Egg Farm, a family-owned business that serves Northern California grocery stores. It ordered and will deploy 10 of Range’s trailers over the next 12-18 months.
The order follows a successful pilot by the farm which it ran in July, testing the trailer on routes between 100 and 440 miles, and also on city distribution routes consisting of more than 15 delivery stops.
During the trial, the trailer had 100% uptime, and did not need any additional time for charging beyond typical downtime. Range says it delivered “up to 70%” mpg improvements. We followed up on that (since it sure seems like “up to” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there), and were told that “average” improvements tallied between 50-70% – but this is highly dependent on a number of factors, so take it with a grain of salt, especially given that the third-party test above showed 36% improvements on a standardized route.
Nevertheless, it shows that in this real-world circumstance, the trailer has worked well to reduce fuel costs for the company in question. And on routes that are perhaps easier-than-average, improvements better than 36% are possibly.
Electrek’s Take
We’ve been quite interested in Range Energy ever since demoing their system at ACT Expo and talking to their leadership.
While the system isn’t fully electric – the Range trailer is electric, but is still driven by a diesel tractor – it’s still a great way to drop in to a fleet and get an improvement right away.
We’d rather have everyone go all electric, which they will in the longer term. But in the short and medium term, this will still reduce pollution quickly.
The one thing we’re worried about is what Range will do once every truck already is electric. There’s still some use for these trailers in those circumstances, as they might fit into an ecosystem where tractors can be sold with a relatively smaller amount of energy storage for shorter routes that don’t need much energy, and then Range trailers can be added to those tractors for longer routes.
But this does feel like a more niche application. However, Range’s leadership seems to have good heads on their shoulders, and they’re a quickly moving company, so we think they’ll be able to figure something out.
Regardless, in the short term, this is quite a boon and we’d love to see more of these out there in the wild. Good on Petaluma Egg Farm for taking the initiative here.
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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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