Promoting Zero-Emission Urban Logistics: Efficient Use of Electric Trucks Through Intelligent Range Estimation

Abstract

Critical success factors for the efficient use of electric trucks are the operational range and the total costs of ownership. For both range and efficient use, power consumption is the key factor. Increasing precision in forecasting power consumption and, hence, maximum range will pave the way for efficient vehicle deployment. However, not only electric trucks are scarce, but also is knowledge with respect to what these vehicles are actually technically capable of. Therefore, this article focuses on power consumption and range of electric vehicles. Following a discussion on how current research handles the mileage of electric vehicles, the article illustrates how to find simple yet robust and precise models to predict power consumption and range by using basic parameters from transport planning only. In the paper, we argue that the precision of range and consump­tion estimates can be substantially improved compared to common approaches which usually posit a proportional relationship between energy consumption and travel dis­tance and require substantial safety buffers.