By Matt Sonnhalter, Vision Architect
By the time I reached Indianapolis for the NTEA Work Truck Week, my seventh trade show in just over 52 days, my battery/energy level was running close to empty! Luckily for me there were plenty of batteries and charging stations since electric vehicles were once again the hot topic of the show. You couldn’t walk 10-feet down any aisle without tripping over something EV-related.
As the industry’s transition to electric power accelerates, much of the news coming out of Work Truck Week was related to electric vehicles, including the launch of eight commercial EVs, as well as associated auxiliary power solutions, bodies and equipment.
The Green Truck Summit, NTEA’s full-day advanced fuels and vehicle technology conference, was also sold out for the second year in a row, with nearly 1,000 attendees.
And the overall attendance of the show returned to pre-pandemic levels with 14,885 industry professionals, setting a new record with a 17% increase over the 2022 event.
Here are just a few of the commercial electric vehicles which were unveiled at the show:
-Isuzu Commercial Truck of America and Hino Trucks both chose Work Truck Week 2023 to announce their first all-electric trucks, Isuzu’s N-Series EV and Hino’s M5e and L6e.
-Mack Trucks unveiled its first electric vehicle in the medium-duty segment, the Mack® MD Electric.
-Shyft Group revealed the new Blue Arc Class 5 All Electric Crew Cab, while Ideanomics and VIA Motors introduced the VTRUX® electric work truck.
-Workhorse Group pulled the silk from its new W56 zero-emission step van.
-JB Poindexter & Co business units announced several new products and developments, including Project ZEVX, an EAVX, Reading Truck and ZEVX electric concept, and an all-electric C250 postal truck demonstration vehicle developed by Morgan Olson for Canada Post.
-Ram Commercial showcased its new Ram 1500 Battery-electric Vehicle Concept, and Bollinger Motors provided updates on its new B4 all-electric fleet truck. Meanwhile, Ford Pro marked the one-year anniversary of the Ford E-Transit all-electric van.
And while the commercial EVs dominated the headlines at the show, there was one booth that caught my eye as I was walking the last day of the show. Loop Energy, an industry-leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of hydrogen fuel cell systems for vehicle OEMs and power generation system manufacturers. They were showcasing their newest commercial vehicle solution. Who knows…maybe hydrogen could be the next alternative fuel/power source in the decades to come. I guess maybe we are not that far away from flying vehicles:)
Well, that’s a wrap for the 1Q 2023 trade show season, time to rest up for the Fall trade show circuit!
