WattEV to add another 150+ EV trucks by end of year

At the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, WattEV said that it is increasing its current fleet of 36 battery-electric trucks to more than 180 by the end of this year. The increase comes on the heels of WattEV’s expansion of its charging depots to five locations within the past month.

“We’ve been using and testing trucks in our fleet from all the major OEMs,” said WattEV CEO Salim Youssefzadeh, adding that WattEV will be taking delivery of the first new batch of 53 zero-emission trucks this month from TEC Equipment, the dealer for Volvo’s VNR Electric.

“We value our longstanding relationship with TEC Equipment,” Youssefzadeh continued, “and have accelerated the delivery of our orders after verifying range and charge rate.”

“As a significant dealer in California and a major supplier of electric heavy-duty trucks, we allied with WattEV in 2021, believing that they will become a leader in the electrification of heavy-duty freight,” Chris Thompson, VP of truck sales at TEC Equipment, said. “Our delivery to WattEV – along with over 200 electric trucks delivered to prominent fleets across the West Coast – places us among the top suppliers in the rapidly expanding California market.”

Once its fleet is expanded to 89 trucks, WattEV said it will take delivery of an additional 100 trucks under order from different OEMs, bringing its total fleet capacity to 189 Class 8 battery-electric trucks.

Youssefzadeh said WattEV is ready to place orders for “thousands” of MCS-capable, Class 8 trucks to meet the demand with energy available from its expanding MCS-capable charging depot network.

He said the trucks on its platform will be deployed via WattEV’s Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) operations and charged at WattEV’s growing, public, rapid-charge depot network – five open now in Bakersfield, CA featuring MCS chargers, solar power and battery storage.

Fisker Group Inc. (Fisker), the operating subsidiary of Fisker Inc., announced that it filed for Chapter 11 protection in the District of Delaware on June 17. The company said it's in advanced discussions with financial stakeholders regarding debtor-in-possession financing and the sale of its assets.

"Fisker has made incredible progress since our founding, bringing the Ocean SUV to market twice as fast as expected in the auto industry and making good on our promises to deliver the most sustainable vehicle in the world," said a Fisker spokesperson in a press release. "We are proud of our achievements, and we have put thousands of Fisker Ocean SUVs in customers' hands in both North America and Europe. But, like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company."