Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electrification: Weighing the
Opportunities and Barriers to Zero-Emission Fleets
Leilani Gonzalez, Sofya Olenicheva, Eva Brungard, Rianna LeHane
This report analyzes the opportunities and challenges to electrifying the United States’ public and private vehicle fleets. It also makes recommendations to policymakers, utility companies, charging companies, and fleet managers to accelerate the electrification of this vehicle segment.
ZETA recommends that federal policymakers amend the tax code to allow businesses to receive tax credits for purchasing commercial medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles and installing electric charging infrastructure. ZETA also encourages federal regulators to collaborate with utility companies and charging companies to modify the electrical grid to accommodate emerging technologies like managed charging practices and discounted time-of-use rates to incentivize EV charging during off-peak hours.
The report shows that electrifying the United States’ medium- and-heavy-duty vehicle fleets will provide fuel and maintenance cost savings for fleet operators, improve public health and minimize environmental damages by significantly reducing the emission of toxic pollutants, increase domestic energy production and ensure the United States’ energy security, and generate new jobs in the vehicle manufacturing, charging installation, and trucking industries.