EV charging for the U.S. freight trucking market is starting to scale
The Einride EV freight truck charging station in Lynwood, California, built by Voltera and located close to the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
Einride
One of the first EV charging stations of scale for freight trucks is opening near the major ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, as the trucking market takes some limited, but significant steps to build the infrastructure required for a long-term transition to EV trucking and net-zero shipping.
Built by Sweden-based freight mobility company Einride and EV charging infrastructure company Voltera, the Lynwood Smartcharger Station along Interstate 710 has 65 chargers and the ability to charge 200 vehicles a day, initially for routes run by global shipping giant A.P. Moller-Maersk, which is also a venture investor in Einride, which was named to the 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50 list.
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach handles 29% of all ocean cargo container traffic coming into the U.S.
“The launch of Einride’s first Smartcharger station in the U.S. marks a momentous stride in establishing digital, electric freight as an important enabler to a more resilient U.S. freight system,” Robert Falck, CEO and founder of Einride, said in a statement.
Founded in 2016, Einride operates one of the largest fleets of heavy duty electric trucks for large companies, including Pepsi.
Voltera, which develops, owns and operates EV infrastructure, said the site was permitted, built, electrified and operational in under 18 months. “In the world of charging infrastructure, that’s pretty remarkable,” its CEO Matt Horton said in a statement.
Einride plans to open many EV charging stations for freight trucking on the West and East coasts, though California is the only state in which there are any EV freight charging stations of scale today. In addition to the new Lynwood station, logistics company NFI announced a freight EV charging station in February that can handle up to 50 trucks, including from Volvo, in a collaboration with Electrify America and Southern California Edison. The NFI EV charging station for port drayage trucks is located at its warehouse facility in Ontario, California, also a strategic location to serve the major southern California ports.
Due to the limitations that EV truck batteries face in range, trucking companies and EV partners are focusing on drayage transportation, and the movement of goods across short distances, for use at ports and intermodal logistics facilities.
Erik Neandross, CEO of transportation consultant GNA, which works with clients on low-carbon and zero-emissions freight, said servicing 50 trucks or more is a different level of magnitude than what’s been done to date in the freight market, but he added that it is still early in the development of EV charging at scale for trucks. “We’re super early. It’s fair to say we’re in the first half of the first inning. California really is the epicenter of activity at this scale and magnitude,” he said.
California’s government has been aggressive in offering grants and incentives to build EV infrastructure, and also approved its utilities to spend $750 million on the development, which makes a significant difference in a market where there are still few EV trucks on the road or charging stations in operation, making it difficult to prove the cost competitiveness versus diesel fuel.
Government and utility spending, combined with regulations to reach net zero by 2040 — and the need among major shippers such as consumer products companies and big-box retailers, from Pepsi to Walmart, to meet their own carbon goals — create an environment in which more investment across the U.S. freight market will be occurring.
The California Air Resources Board is requiring truck manufacturers to begin phasing in available heavy-duty EV technology this year, with expectations to have all zero-emission short-haul drayage fleets by 2035. Medium and heavy trucks make up only about 4% of vehicles in the U.S., but consume more than 25% of total highway fuel and represent nearly 30% of highway carbon emissions, according to the Department of Energy.
Additional EV charging projects at ports in New York and New Jersey, as well as the Pacific Northwest, are planned.
“Now is the time to test it before the next few fleet buying cycles,” Neandross said. “There is nothing like building the infrastructure to go out and see, learn. That’s where we are today.”
The entire supply chain, from the manufacturing of products, to a container being shipped all the way from Shanghai to Chicago, will require a complex net zero equation, and shippers and freight companies are targeting everything from energy use at plants to source materials, packaging and logistics. “To get to net zero, you have to do all of it,” Neandross said. “A lot of the companies we work with have been hard at work on the non-transport side. Take Pepsi, they’ve done all they can do to put in LED lights and buy renewable energy and maximize the efficiency of production. Now it’s time to get to work on trucks and the logistics side. It’s hard, but it has to be done.”
The Environmental Protection Agency released new emissions mandates for cars and pickups this week, and the EPA is expected to soon issue new emissions requirements for medium and heavy-duty trucks, which will make alternatives to diesel engines more competitive, including both compressed natural gas-powered trucks and zero-emission EV trucks.
Subaru is the latest Japanese automaker to announce it will “re-evaluate” its EV plans. The company is rethinking its strategy with slowing sales and a potential multi-billion-dollar hit from Trump’s auto tariffs. The tariffs might not even be Subaru’s biggest threat.
Subaru and other Japanese automakers adjust EV plans
Within the past week, Japanese automakers, including Nissan, Honda, Toyota, and now Subaru, have announced major adjustments to their EV plans.
After releasing fiscal year financial results on Wednesday, Subaru’s CEO, Atsushi Osaki, said, “We are re-evaluating our plans, including the timing of investments.” Osaki added that the move is due to “today’s rapidly changing environment” and other external factors.
Like most of the industry, Subaru is bracing for a shift under the Trump administration, which could cost it billions. With around half of its vehicles sold, the US is key for the Japanese automaker.
Subaru said Trump’s new auto tariffs could cost the company up to $2.5 billion this year. The automaker is looking at ways to boost US production, but it won’t be easy.
Tomoaki Emori, Subaru’s senior managing executive director, said (via Automotive News), “Under the current circumstances, there is probably no way not to expand in the US. We must think about how to go about that.”
Emori added that the company still has the production capacity, “so we would like to mitigate the impact of tariffs while making use of it.”
Subaru joins a growing list of automakers in pulling its earnings forecast, citing “developments in US tariff policy” make it hard to forecast.
The company’s global sales fell 4.1% to 936,000 units over the past year. In North America, deliveries also fell 4.1% to 732,000 vehicles. Subaru anticipates global sales will continue dropping to around 900,000 this year, or another 4% drop. A part of the forecast is due to downtime at its Yajima plant as Subaru prepares to produce EV batteries.
Osaki said Subaru is “making various preparations for a BEV-dedicated plant,” but added it may add a mix of gas-powered vehicles.
Subaru unveiled its second EV for the US at last month’s NY Auto Show, the 2026 Trailseeker. The Outback-sized electric SUV will go on sale in 2026, joining the smaller Solterra in Subaru’s EV lineup in the US.
Since “It is becoming more difficult to decide how to incorporate electrification into our production mix,” Emori said, Subaru is “thinking about how to incorporate hybrids and plug-in hybrids.”
Electrek’s Take
Subaru and other Japanese automakers are quickly falling behind Chinese EV leaders like BYD in some of their most important sales regions, like Southeast Asia.
Delaying new EV models and other projects will only set them further behind in the long run. Nissan is in crisis mode after scrapping plans to build a new battery plant in Japan. The facility was expected to produce lower-cost LFP batteries, which could have helped Nissan compete on costs with BYD and others.
Last week, Toyota’s President, Koji Sato, said the company will be “reviewing” its goal of selling 1.5 million electric vehicles by 2026. And just yesterday, Honda announced plans to pause around $15 billion in planned EV investments in Canada.
BYD and other EV leaders are expanding overseas to drive growth after squeezing foreign brands, especially Japanese automakers, out of China.
Next year, BYD is launching its first kei car, or mini EV, that’s expected to be a big threat to Japanese automakers. A Suzuki dealer (via Nikkei) warned, “Young people do not have a negative view of BYD. It would be a huge threat if the company launches cheap models in Japan.”
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Porsche Cars North America has integrated over 97,000 more charging stations into its app, streamlining its Porsche Charging Service.
That brings the total number of EV charging stations available to Porsche Charging Service customers in the US to 102,000, with more scheduled to be added in 2025. That means Porsche drivers can now use the My Porsche app as a one-stop shop to easily find, use, and pay at most J1772 and CCS charging stations.
“This is a significant milestone for Porsche and the electric vehicle journey,” said Timo Resch, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. “We know flexibility and choice are important.”
Customers in the Porsche Charging Service inclusive period – that’s the year after you buy your EV – or who sign up for Porsche Charging Service Premium can now access the ChargePoint, EV Connect, EVgo, Flo, EvGateway, and Ionna networks, in addition to chargers in the Electrify America network.
Customers in the Porsche Charging Service Base plan will receive access later this summer.
Read more: ChargePoint unveils ‘revolutionary’ V2X EV charger tech that can double Level 2 speeds
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Tesla’s (TSLA) board is reportedly exploring a new CEO pay deal for Elon Musk, who might not get back his $55 billion 2018 compensation package.
According to a new Financial Times report, Tesla’s board created a new “special committee” to explore a new CEO pay package for Musk.
The report points to the committee looking at new stock options and “alternative ways” to compensate Musk if Tesla fails to reinstate his 2018 compensation package, which was rescinded by a judge who found that Musk negotiated the deal with a board under his control and then misrepresented it to shareholders.
Musk is Tesla’s largest shareholder and therefore, he stands to benefit the most when the company does well. However, he doesn’t take a salary for his role as CEO.
Historically, He has received stock compensation packages, with the one secured in 2018 being the controversial one currently under contention.
Since then, no new CEO compensation package has been approved, and Tesla has not suggested another one as it tried to appeal the judge’s decision on the 2018 package.
The company is currently attacking the decision on two fronts with an appeal to the Delaware Supreme Court and a new legislation in Delaware to try to circumvent the decision altogether.
FT reporting that the board is working on a new compensation package with backpay could point to Tesla anticipating not being able to reinstate the original compensation package.
Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson are the board members reportedly on the new committee.
Denholm took over from Musk as Tesla’s chair, and she has recently made headlines for selling her Tesla stock options for more than $530 million over the last few years.
Electrek’s Take
It increasingly looks like Tesla won’t be able to distance itself from Musk and separate its fate from his.
Musk has masterfully convinced Tesla shareholders that the destruction of its core business, selling electric vehicles, doesn’t matter because the company is on the verge of solving self-driving – something he has claimed every year for the last 6 years and has been wrong every time.
Now that they don’t care about EVs, there’s no point in blaming Musk for killing demand and delivering a single new vehicle in 5 years, the Cybertruck, a commercial flop.
Therefore, the only thing that will make Tesla shareholders stop wanting Musk as CEO is if they stop believing his self-driving and humanoid robot claims.
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