There’s no doubt that hybrid trucks are becoming more popular by the day. In fact, according to Carcody.com, just about every major automotive manufacturer is producing a hybrid pickup in the USA.
But what does that say about the future of all-electric cars? We decided to take an optimistic, pessimistic, and realistic look at the future of all-electric trucks here. The good, the bad, and the ugly, we’ve covered it all.
By combining the different perspectives on these vehicles, it’s much easier to get an understanding of all the different ways these vehicles can progress and get utilized in today’s rapidly evolving world.
Why Hybrid Trucks are Taking Over
Before we dive into the future of all-electric trucks, we need to take a look at why hybrid vehicles are taking over in the first place. The answer is relatively simple. If you need a truck but don’t need top-end torque or towing power, a hybrid vehicle is a more environmentally and budget-friendly solution.
Hybrid vehicles offer significant fuel savings over traditional trucks, which is a big deal for businesses. And while they don’t provide the same torque or towing power as a diesel truck, many service technicians simply don’t need this extra power.
So, while you might not see hybrid trucks taking over the farm world, it makes sense that pest control companies, internet providers, and other service technicians are making the switch.
All-Electric vehicles Are the Future!
It’s not hard to get pumped about the future of all-electric trucks. They have immense torque and pulling power, easily outperforming traditional trucks. Not only that, but you don’t need to worry about spending a mint at the pump, a significant drawback to traditional trucks.
As battery capabilities increase and more charging stations start popping up all over the place, it’s only a matter of time before these vehicles take over the world.
Chief among their uses are for mobile service technicians. Whether it’s a television provider technician or a rodent control expert, businesses are going to love the savings they see with electric trucks. Not only do they save on fuel costs, but all-electric pickups have far fewer maintenance costs associated with maintaining the fleet.
Once you throw in autopilot features that reduce accidents, these trucks will be unstoppable.
All-Electric Trucks Have No Place!
Sure, all-electric trucks have impressive torque and pulling power, but have you seen what that does to battery life? How can people haul things across the country when the range of their vehicle diminishes with each pound they throw on the trailer?
Not only that, but how do you handle a work site when a truck goes down for a few hours because it needs a charge? All-electric vehicles simply can’t handle 12-hour days of non-stop work. Moreover, if you’re heading way off the grid, you’ll run out of juice before you can make it to the next charging station.
Not only that, but the batteries in all-electric trucks lose their capability to hold a charge as effectively over time, and those batteries are insanely expensive to replace. So, while that truck might have a 350-mile range now, in a few years, that range will sink to about 300-miles.
Finally, there’s simply not enough raw minerals to build all those batteries! What good is building enough charging stations if we can’t build enough trucks? While all-electric vehicles help reduce carbon emissions, they do it at the cost of the ocean floor in the Pacific.
The Case for Hybrid, All-Electric, and Diesel Trucks
The truth, like with most matters, falls somewhere between the two scenarios above. All-electric trucks will almost certainly have a place in modern society, but the overall extent is still up for debate. Their diminished range when towing is undoubtedly a valid concern, but will the range increase as technology improves?
Still, no matter how far the range goes, someone’s always going to want to push it further. That’s where hybrid vehicles can step in. Hybrid trucks offer a more environmentally sustainable way to haul things over extended distances.
They alternate between running on an electric motor and a gas engine, which improves fuel efficiency, which is both good for your wallet and the environment. However, hybrid trucks have a significant tradeoff, they’re not nearly as powerful as traditional diesel trucks or even all-electric ones.
Another drawback is that hybrid vehicles are a bit more expensive to maintain. You still have a traditional engine that needs maintenance, but you also have the entire electrical side of the vehicle that can act up.
Those two reasons are why diesel trucks, and to a lesser extent gas trucks, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. When you need a ton of power over an extended distance, currently nothing beats a diesel.
They’re also extremely long-lasting, even if they are a bit more expensive to maintain than an all-electric truck. And sure, they’re not the most environmentally friendly, but they’re the best at getting the job done.
Even better, by combining all three trucks, you don’t need to scrape as many minerals off the ocean floor to build and sustain a growing electric vehicle market.
Final Thoughts
When you look at everything each vehicle has to offer and the perks and drawbacks associated with each, it’s not hard to imagine a world that uses each truck option. Just know that each line will be shifting with the evolving technology.
As the battery range on all-electric vehicles increases, the need for diesel and hybrid trucks will almost certainly shrink – but that doesn’t mean they’re leaving the market completely, at least not any time soon.
