EV heavy trucks take on China's frigid northeast
A grain hauler that used only diesel trucks bought a batch from Sany's truck unit, which says they can cut running costs by 60%.
Northeast China is a hard place for trucks: long hauls, relatively few people and long, bitter winters. One grain-transport company there, which had run only diesel trucks, has now put its first batch of electric heavy trucks to work, from the heavy-truck unit of Sany Group (三一集团), which describes itself as one of the world's largest manufacturers of construction machinery.
The unit announced the deployment earlier this month, according to Securities Daily (证券日报). The trucks cover about 300 km per day and can cut overall running costs by 60% compared with diesel trucks, Deputy General Manager Chen Dong (陈栋) told the publication. The customer, which the report doesn't name, is preparing to buy a second batch of 20-plus trucks.
Cold harms EV performance and slows charging. At minus 7 degrees Celsius (20 F), an EV’s range can drop 41%, according to the US Department of Energy, mostly because heating the cab draws on the battery. Winter conditions in northeast China winter are even more harsh. Sany says its truck batteries can stay warm for 12 hours at minus 20 degrees Celsius.
Sany already has a big share of the region: four of every 10 electric heavy trucks sold in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning come from its truck unit, according to figures cited by Securities Daily. To keep them running, the unit has set up battery swapping, fast charging and its own repair crews in the region.
Sources: 证券时报网 STCN (relaying 证券日报 Securities Daily), SANY Group (company site)
Editor: Ian Lamont
