CALSTART releases latest update to zeroing in on zero-emission trucks report

CALSTART, a national clean-transportation technology nonprofit, announced today its third update to its comprehensive market report, Zeroing in on Zero-Emission Trucks, which focuses on the steadily increasing adoption of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) trucks throughout the country.

The report and its updates present current deployment statistics as of June 2023, the overall state of the U.S. zero-emission truck (ZET) (Class 2b-8) market, and insights into ZET trends. The report provides vital information that can help inform policymakers, original equipment manufacturers and fleet owners of actual and potential market and policy opportunities that can influence ZET adoption and deployment. For the first time, CALSTART has also created a complementary dashboard to allow users to easily access and visualize the data.

Key findings of the current update include:

• As of June 2023, more than 17,500 ZETs have been deployed in the United States. ZETs have now been deployed in all 50 states.

• Electric cargo vans, which have limited market barriers for mass adoption and have received significant investment from large last-mile delivery companies, represent more than 80 percent of these ZET deployments.

• Regulations and incentives continue to be significant drivers of ZET adoption. States that had adopted the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) regulation as of June 2023 account for 38 percent of all ZET deployments, despite making up just 25 percent of all truck registrations.

• Observed trends driving growth in the U.S. ZET market include: increased model availability, expansion of regulations to additional geographies, historic levels of funding available, unprecedented investments in charging infrastructure, increased support for small fleets, deployments moving from pilots to scale, more robust battery supply chains, hydrogen fuel cell developments and an increased push from shippers, among others.

• Key opportunities to accelerate ZET deployments include building public charging, accelerating utility processes, accelerating adoption of regulations, catalyzing a market for smaller fleets and developing high-powered charging technology

“The ZIO ZET report allows us to separate the signal from the noise surrounding the industry's transition to ZETs,” said Jessie Lund, CALSTART’s Deputy Director of Truck Technology. “Driven by real-world data, we can see that ZET deployments are rapidly increasing across the country. We can also see that more action is needed to align with the United States’ commitment to 30 percent of new truck and bus sales being zero-emission by the end of the decade. Putting the U.S. on track to rapidly transition to zero-emission commercial vehicles will require historic collaboration from a diverse set of industry stakeholders, including fleets, truck builders, utilities, shippers, policymakers, and civil society.”

As commercial fleets increasingly transition to ZETs across the country and more and more states adopt zero-emission vehicle regulations and targets, the Zeroing in on Zero-Emission Trucks updates serve as an essential resource to those weighing options, market trends, and regulatory requirements on their path to incorporating clean transportation technology into their businesses and jurisdictions.