Motiv Electric Trucks may not grab all the headlines, but it’s been quietly putting electric box vans to work throughout California for the past fifteen years. And, last week, the company’s commercial EV fleet logged its five millionth all-electric mile driven.
According to Motiv’s press materials, fully 45% of the electric step vans in California today are Motive Electric Trucks. That translates to more than 370 electric vans operating daily shifts throughout the Golden State, racking up not just five million miles of all-electric driving, but racking up other big stats as well.
What kind of stats? Try these: over 300 million pounds of goods delivered, more than 15 million pounds of CO2 “saved” compared to conventional diesel, nearly a ton of PM 2.5 particulate matter, and – most crucial of all – more than 98% uptime.
That’s the kind of performance that leads to high levels of customer satisfaction, and Motiv has that, too. The company says its 200-mile range step vans lead the industry when it comes to repeat and follow-on orders, citing that since delivering its first EV in 2009, fully 64% of its new vehicle sales have been to repeat customers like Purolator, Vestis (formerly Aramark Uniform Services), Cintas, Bimbo Bakeries, and Shasta Linen Supply.
“We are very appreciative of our customers for believing in us, sharing our vision of cleaner commerce, and investing clean trucking to benefit their communities,” explains Scott Griffith, CEO of Motiv. “We’re also grateful for our employees and partners who produce such high quality and safe vehicles to make this milestone possible. We’re already looking ahead to the next 5 million miles.”
Electrek’s Take
Motiv is one of those companies that you root for. They took a huge risk when they launched in 2009, and took an even bigger risk more recently when they decided to develop their own proprietary operator cab and chassis, the Argo (prototype shown in white, above).
As much fun as all that is, though, it’s comments like these (below) that really make me hope Motiv continues to succeed – because they seem to get it.
Poor air quality caused by fossil-powered trucks disproportionally affects low-income communities and communities of color, as pollution is found in higher rates near highways, warehouses and ports, where these communities abound. Long-term exposure to poor air quality causes increased death rates attributed to cardiovascular diseases and has been linked to lung cancer.
Additionally, children who grow up in areas with high levels of pollution show reduced lung function, increased rates of asthma and lower IQ levels in their teens. Each electric mile our customers drive helps reduce these public health issues, for the benefit of everyone along the route.
When vehicle manufacturers start to look at the damage that ICEs have done, and continue to do their communities, and fess up to lasting, generational impact caused by the sort of lazy and/or corrupt government policies Americans have endured for decades, it’s hard not to think of them as “the good guys.” Here’s hoping that the good guys everywhere eventually win out.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Motive Electric Trucks.
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