As the spread of electric vehicles continues, more fleet operators are adding electric vehicles to their operations. The latest operators to get on the electric trucks trend are FedEx’s ground operators, known as Independent Service Providers. Between them, they will take delivery of 120 clean energy delivery vans.
The electric trucks will be supplied by Xos Trucks, a California-based EV startup that specializes in Class 5 to Class 8 commercial vans. While the initial batch of 120 vehicles will be used by 35 different FedEx ISPs, more of the electric trucks will be delivered to more ISPs in the future. For now, they will be deployed in California, New York, New jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas. The first vehicles will be on the road by the end of this year.
Xos Trucks has been testing the electric van, with more than 4,000 actual driven already. The company unveiled a prototype of the electric truck in 2017 and later won another contract with UPS to build an electric truck for deliveries. FedEx ground operators are getting the version that UPS ordered.
Detailed technical specifications for the electric trucks are not yet available. However, Xox Trucks says the vans will be built on its platform known as “X-Platform 1”, which is adaptable for other vehicles that require different wheelbases and batteries, for example. Two battery packs of 30 kWh capacity each will combine to give a range of 100 miles. More packs can be added to double the range.
FedEx aims to have 50 percent of its new delivery vans to be powered by electricity by 2025, and ultimately step it up to 100 percent by 2030. To achieve this goal, FedEx will work with multiple EV makers, including General Motors, which will supply its EV600 electric truck to the logistics giant.
Gio Sordoni, Xos’ Co-Founder and COO said “We are delighted to provide our FedEx Ground customers with our best-in-class electric trucks. We look forward to continuing to support them in meeting their site infrastructure and charging needs at vehicle depots in addition to offering Fleet-as-a-Service and financing alternatives to streamline their purchasing, maintenance, and operating experience.”