Electrifying medium-duty trucks is a class act

Most of the buzz around commercial truck electrification seems to focus on Class 8 models. Who’s ordering them? Where is the infrastructure to charge them? Other than a few lesser-known players like BYD and Nikola, the field belongs to the legacy players like Daimler Truck, Volvo and Paccar.

That leaves a clearer field for startups and electric chassis companies in the Class 3-5 range. Of those, Class 5 model step vans weighing between 16,001 and 19,500 pounds are attracting a lot of new entrants. These trucks can carry up to 10,000 pounds of cargo, move easily in traffic and — despite their boxy appearance — maneuver reasonably well.