LAS VEGAS — CES shouldn’t be an official auto present.
Still, the annual know-how showcase “has become such an important show for the automotive industry” that it is smart for startups corresponding to electrical truck producer Lordstown Motors to pitch their merchandise right here, mentioned Edward Hightower, the corporate’s CEO.
Lordstown introduced its debut truck, the fleet-focused Endurance pickup, to CES this week.
Harbinger Motors, one other industrial electrical car startup, got here to CES with a car prototype based mostly on an electrical chassis that underpins medium-duty automobiles corresponding to supply vans and RVs.
Commercial fleet automobiles present a major alternative to transform inside combustion miles to electrical miles as a result of they spend a lot time on the highway in contrast with passenger automobiles, Hightower mentioned.
Commercial automobiles additionally usually drive repeatable routes that may be tailor-made to an electrical car’s vary, they usually typically return to a central depot the place they are often simply charged.
“It’s an important demonstration of our mission, this drive towards electrification,” Hightower mentioned.
Lordstown lately began deliveries of the Endurance and was named a finalist within the truck class for the 2023 North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year awards. The firm has mentioned its preliminary manufacturing batch contains 500 vans, although it didn’t disclose the variety of its first deliveries or identify its first prospects.
Electrification has been a key theme this week at CES. A three way partnership by Sony and Honda unveiled its Afeela EV prototype. Ram will unveil its first electrical pickup. Elsewhere, firms are displaying new EV charging know-how.
Lordstown and Harbinger are “two disrupters, and the commercial electric space is kind of ripe with disrupters right now, but their approaches are a little bit different than others — especially Lordstown,” mentioned James Martin, affiliate director, consulting companies, S&P Global Mobility.
Martin mentioned Lordstown’s technique of providing solely a industrial pickup is “a completely different approach.” Competitors are focusing on each the buyer and industrial markets.
“We have to say that they do have some edge of success there because they’ve got a vehicle on the road,” he mentioned. “CES probably is a really good place for them to tell their story.”
Martin mentioned it will likely be fascinating to see how the electrical industrial car section evolves over the subsequent three to 4 years.
John Harris, CEO of Harbinger Motors, mentioned CES is an opportunity to attach with prospects and suppliers and permit them to drive its car. This is the primary drive occasion for Harbinger, Harris mentioned.
“Getting something like that in a place that’s convenient for a lot of people is why CES is important for us,” he mentioned.
Harbinger has centered initially on its stripped chassis, which may begin manufacturing in 2024. It plans to comply with with a cab chassis, presumably in late 2025, Harris mentioned. The firm will focus its efforts on its electrical chassis platform, whereas specialised upfitters construct the car physique.
Harris mentioned Harbinger has a “couple dozen” industrial prospects, together with upfitters, fleets and distributors. The firm counts prospects as people who have put down a nonrefundable deposit.
Harbinger has centered on medium-duty automobiles as a result of they log quite a lot of miles, however the section has been slower to transition to EVs, Harris mentioned.
“These are vehicles that are just getting run to death with the amount of constant usage that they have, so this is really just the worst segment to have left behind on electrification,” he mentioned.
Laura Harris contributed to this report.
Source: www.autonews.com