BYD Delivers Electric Refuse Truck to Palo Alto, CA

Electric-vehicle manufacturer BYD delivers what it calls the world’s first all-electric side-loader refuse truck to the city of Palo Alto, CA, and GreenWaste, the city’s waste-hauler service.

The truck uses its batteries to power the hydraulic system for the body as well as propulsion. It has 76 miles (122 km) of range and requires only two to three hours maximum to fully charge, BYD says in a news release. The truck will operate on a variety of service routes in the Silicon Valley community from urban to residential neighborhoods including streets with steep inclines.

The truck “will save 72 metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions a year and help us meet Palo Alto’s ambitious goal of an 80% reduction in these emissions by 2030,” Mayor Greg Scharff says at a ceremony marking the vehicle’s unveiling.

GreenWaste and the city of Palo Alto will save more than $16,000 annually due to the truck’s high-efficiency electric motors and controls, as well as less maintenance required for the propulsion systems, fewer fluids to change, less brake wear due to regenerative braking technology and fewer moving parts overall, BYD says.

GreenWaste will monitor and collect data from the truck’s routes to determine whether additional electric refuse trucks should be purchased to replace its entire diesel fleet.

“BYD wants to electrify everything in transportation, and we see great potential for turning over diesel or natural-gas refuse truck fleets to zero-emission battery-electric trucks,” says Andy Swanton, vice president-truck sales for BYD Heavy Industries.

Due to the stop-and-go nature and designated daily routes of refuse-hauler operations, the refuse market represents a prime opportunity for vehicle electrification, BYD says. Earlier this year, the Chinese-owned manufacturer introduced the first Class 8 heavy-duty electric refuse truck designed and built by an original equipment manufacturer at the 2017 Advanced Clean Transportation Expo.

BYD claims to be the world’s largest maker of electric vehicles and North America’s leading electric-bus and -truck maker, having delivered more than 150 electric buses in the U.S. and Canada to date. BYD says it will deliver 70 electric trucks to 15 customers in North America by the end of 2017.

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