Mahindra’s Electric Maxximo… coming soon probably between Dec 2014-March 2015
As the world is trying to build a car that would run on Electricity the guys at Mahindra are trying to bring to life a small sized commercial vehicle popularly known as mini-Truck that would run on Electricity. Most people I talk to think the EV truck will be more difficult to be a success as it will be constantly on the move throughout the day and would require more power which can only be got from a Diesel engine truck. But I feel the mini-trucks/Trucks/Buses have a better chance to succeed than the Electric Car… why?
The reasons are:If they make the carrier as a box type truck it will have a supremely large surface area where they can bolt or weld a lot of flexible or lightweight solar panels.
Sanyo Truck – 130km Range on single charge.
China – Solar Panel Flaps open up to Charge the Truck.
The solar paneled truck can run nonstop say from Kanyakumari to Kashmir (a distance of 3,630 km) or even cross-continent without a single ounce of petrol or even grid based electric charging. The truck-driver can Charge the truck after sunrise during day time (7am to 5pm = 10 Hrs) and drive the truck at night. All at Zero cost!
The fuel costs of a delivery truck are much more than the fuel cost of a car as the commercial trucks covers much greater distances. The distance covered is usually 10 times more than the distance covered by a Car. So the Trucker can save a much more money than even an electric car owner.
Pick up trucks can have solar panels fixed on them to charge on the go or even while parked.
Delivery trucks too can have solar panels fixed on them to charge on the go or even while parked.
The more vehicles a delivery company has… more is its profit. If a Trucker is having a lot of driving he can come back to his office when the battery is low and park it in the sun and drive off with Truck no. 2…when that too is low come back and go off with Truck no. 3. By this time (sunset) Truck No. 1 will be charged full, Truck 2 will be 25% charged and Truck 3 will be 0% charged. All the deliveries will be full profit and no expenses towards fuel.
Camping Truck – The Pickup has been nicely modified to become a caravan. BElectricity from the Sun would be so much useful for the Camper who is kilometers away from the nearest electrical grid.
If he wants quicker charging he can always use the house electricity point. Maybe the Electricity companies might not be happy of charging a commercial vehicle via house electricity connection…. See this will be where the EV charging Policy clause will come into the House Electricity Bill.The office building and parking can also be heavily solar paneled (roof, exterior side wall, parking roof) to take advantage of the higher number of vehicles.
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