Record order for Tesla Semi as UPS wants 125 e-trucks
UPS joins the growing circle of large businesses that trust in Tesla to launch its electric truck Semi in time for them to reach the climate goals. The carrier ordered 125 units and added data for customisation.
UPS has confirmed today that it has ordered 125 electric Semi trucks from Tesla ahead of the planned production date and UPS says it expects to be among the first clients to see their order fulfilled in 2019.
While this remains to be seen, this new business relation may help Tesla tune its offering to the needs of commercial clients. In the case of UPS, the carrier has provided the EV maker real-world data for Tesla to better understand what performance is expected from an electric truck for the UPS duty cycle.
UPS joins the likes of DHL Americas, Walmart and most recently Sysco as well as Pepsico in reserving their trust for Elon Musk.
While reservations for the Semi were first 5,000 dollars each, Tesla has changed the listed deposit price reportedly last month and now asks 20,000 dollars for a so-called base reservation. If UPS indeed just now placed the order without any special deal, they likely had to place a 2.5 million dollar deposit.
For UPS, Tesla is by far not the only alternative vehicle provider. The U.S. carrier’s European business is among the first clients to trial Volkswagen’s e-Crafter starting this January (we reported).
On a smaller scale, UPS is also running tests with electric bicycles in both London and Pittsburgh and has been experimenting to increase fleet electrification overall.
By 2020 UPS plans that one in four new vehicles purchased annually will be an alternative fuel or advanced technology vehicle, up from 16 percent in 2016. The company also set a new goal that by 2025, 40 percent of all ground fuel will be from sources other than conventional gasoline and diesel, an increase from 19.6 percent in 2016 (we reported).
0 Comments