Connect with us

Published

on

ArcBest just rolled out a line of fully automated electric forklifts and reach trucks for use in its customers’ distribution centers and manufacturing facilities — and if they get their way, struggling to find those “forklift certified” operators will be a thing of the past.

Branded as “Vaux Smart Autonomy,” the new suite of electric forklifts and trucks builds on ArcBest’s award-winning Vaux Freight Movement System, which enables the company’s AMR line of electric forklifts to operate in autonomous, remote, or manual modes.

ArcBest says its forklifts can use advanced software, sensors and cameras to safely navigate a busy warehouse, detect and identify pallets and racking systems, and perform complicated tasks like loading and unloading, moving objects around the site, and stacking pallets. With some added options, the forklifts can use dimensioning and 2D barcode reading to unlock additional “smart” functionalities.

“It’s really more than just forklifts,” ArcBest Chairman, President and CEO Judy McReynolds told Trucking Dive in an interview. “It takes those combined with intelligent software, and then also tele-operations capabilities that are remote.”

That remote operation is key to making autonomous work. Vaux Smart Autonomy’s teleoperator center complements the autonomous features with human remote monitoring, enabling one operator to keep track of several many autonomous forklifts at the same time, and enabling them to step in when the ‘bots needs human assistance.

ArcBest line of autonomous warehouse forklifts

“Our commitment to innovation and ongoing investments in technology continue to drive ArcBest’s profitable growth and our customers’ success,” offers McReynolds. “As supply chains become increasingly complex, we are introducing transformational innovations to the market that help our customers achieve their financial and operational objectives. Vaux Smart Autonomy will revolutionize material handling for customers, helping to optimize and unlock greater efficiencies in their warehouses, distribution centers and the overall supply chain.”

ArcBest’s Vaux AMR 5K Counterbalance Forklift has a capacity of 5,000 lbs., max heights of 18 feet and 23 feet, and requires 12.5 feet of aisle space. For tighter spaces, the Narrow Aisle Reach Truck has a capacity of 4,000 or 4,500 lbs. and needs just 9.5 feet of space.

Electrek’s Take

Forklifts are one area of the equipment industry where electric drive has really taken hold. In fact, more than 60% of the current forklift fleet is already electric — and if going electric makes it easier for big companies to go autonomous and cut back on their operating costs while reducing their liability exposure and cutting back on their workman’s comp. liability at the same time?

These are a no-brainer.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Imported Tesla Cybertruck is seized by police in the UK, deemed dangerous and not legal

Published

on

By

Imported Tesla Cybertruck is seized by police in the UK, deemed dangerous and not legal

Police have seized an imported Tesla Cybertruck in the UK as it is not road-legal in the country and deemed dangerous for pedestrians.

Tesla has always known that its Cybertruck design would be complicated to get homologated in other markets than North America, where the rules are similar between the US, Canada, and Mexico. The company admitted that it might limit the markets where Cybertruck would be sold, which is why Tesla doesn’t plan to expand beyond current markets.

However, it hasn’t stopped people from privately importing Cybertrucks to their home markets.

We have seen two Cybertrucks traveling through Europe, and they were stopped at Lithuanian customs due to suspicions that they were going to Russia.

Sure enough, Russian warlord and Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov took delivery of Cybertrucks and outfitted them with machine guns a few months later and then claimed that they joined the war effort in Ukraine.

Other Cybertrucks made their way to other markets like China.

Now, we learn that one has made it to the UK, but it didn’t last long.

The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) announced that the seized the Cybertruck pictured above that was roaming the streets in the UK illegally. They wrote on social media:

Whilst this may seem trivial to some, legitimate concerns exist around the safety of other road users or pedestrians if they were involved in a collision with the Cybertruck.

Tesla had brought the vehicle in the UK, but only for demonstration. It never tried to make it legal in the country.

The police added:

The Tesla Cybertruck is not road-legal in the UK and does not hold a certificate of conformity.

The authorities said that the Cybertruck was registered and insured abroad, but the driver was a UK resident. They will have to show prove of ownership and insurance to release the vehicle.

Electrek’s Take

The authorities are clearly right here since the vehicle is not road-legal currently, but could it be road-legal? It’s hard to say.

The police here repeat claims that the Cybertruck might be dangerous for pedestrians in crashes. That has been a concern that has often been raised since the truck launched in 2023.

It looks obvious based on the design of the Cybertruck. However, we haven’t seen third-party crash testing of the Cybertruck yet, and it might take a while before we do.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Wheel-E Podcast: New e-bike regulations, sodium batteries, more

Published

on

By

Wheel-E Podcast: New e-bike regulations, sodium batteries, more

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes proposed e-bike restrictions in New York and Oregon, Super73 lowering the performance of its e-bikes, a review of the Tenways CGO600 Pro-C electric bike, new sodium-ion batteries coming from Yadea, Heybike unveiling its first mid-drive e-bike, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.

After the show ends, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.

Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 6:30 a.m. ET (or the video after 7:30 a.m. ET):

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Environment

Charge Cars finds new owners to resume development of its ’67 bespoke electric muscle car

Published

on

By

Charge Cars finds new owners to resume development of its '67 bespoke electric muscle car

UK EV startup Charge Cars has announced a fresh breath of life into its bespoke electric muscle car business. The company has announced new ownership, which intends to continue and expedite the development of its flagship model, the ’67, based on a classic Ford Mustang.

Charge Cars emerged as a startup in 2016 and is headquartered a few minutes outside London. The company’s initial goal has been to develop and deliver its flagship product, the ’67 EV, as seen below. The ’67 is based on the 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback and required a license from the American automaker to use its body components.

The company previously shared plans to build only 499 examples of this electric muscle car, but almost a decade later, potential customers are still waiting.

While we have been following Charge Cars for some time, there’s a reason we haven’t covered the company. Its flagship BEV is cool as hell but has always given us the feeling that it runs on pure vapor. Most startups can build a prototype, but as we always say, scaling is hard.

There’s no better evidence of this struggle than the news that came out of Charge Cars HQ in May 2024, stating that it had entered administration in the UK and a licensed insolvency practitioner, in this case, Mark Smith and Stephen Cork of Cork Gully LLP, were appointed as administrators to handle the business, its affairs, and intellectual property.

The options were to sell off pieces of the business or try to salvage it with fresh investors interested in taking over. Lucky for Charge Cars, a group of private investors has come to the rescue and will try to pick up where the original owners left off in developing and delivering a bespoke electric muscle car.

Charge hopes to live on and deliver its electric muscle car

According to a press release published from the UK early this morning, a consortium of private investors has acquired Charge Cars. It plans to expedite the final development of the ’67 electric muscle car at a new state-of-the-art global headquarters based in Silverstone, UK. Paul Abercrombie, who took over as Charge CEO last November, spoke about the new ownership and the opportunities it will bring the British EV startup:

On behalf of the consortium, I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Charge Cars. The ‘67 establishes a new class of EV – and we will now accelerate final development at our new global HQ in Silverstone, UK, rapidly delivering this exciting luxury vehicle to customers. The Charge brand has huge global potential, and we look forward to revealing more details very soon.

While we now know the future of Charge Cars’ electric muscle car is in the hands of this consortium at a new headquarters, the rest of its plans remain private for now. We do not know if the new owners will stick to the original production targets of 499 builds or go smaller or larger.

From what we can tell, the specs of the ’67 will remain the same as the reborn startup works through its final development stage, as outlined above. The electric muscle car based on a classic Ford has a 63 kWh battery that delivers 200 miles of range and powers quad motors that can reach 400 kW of peak power (1,520 Nm of torque). The BEV can travel 0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds and recharge at a DC rate of up to 50 kW.

Charge Cars promises to reveal future plans “imminently.” Check back with Electrek soon.

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Continue Reading

Trending