Southern California is becoming the epicenter for manufacturing commercial electric vehicle trucks.
John Harris, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Harbinger Motors Inc., in Garden Grove, sits with EV truck batteries on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Harbinger Motors Inc., a commercial EV truck maker, is part of a growing number of commercial EV truck makers building an EV truck infrastructure in Southern California. Robert Sanchez sits in a truck cab surrounded by LED display screens that show him battery and hydrogen levels in the nearly year-old, zero-emission Nikola-made truck.
“It’s like a computer on wheels. We’re still working through some of the bugs,” said David Thornburg, a contractor with4 Gen Logistics is one of myriad EV truck startups in Southern California that are taking advantage of billions of dollars in investor capital and government subsidies aimed at electrifying the nation’s massive truck fleet.
While California’s EV registrations represent 39% of all EVs in the United States, the effort to electrify commercial trucks hasn’t garnered the same headline-grabbing attention. Nonetheless, the state is an early leader. Trucking experts say Southern California has attracted technological innovation from a handful of newcomers to the region – thanks to clean air initiatives in the Ports of LA and Long Beach and other federal and state efforts. Such efforts are helping push the region to the forefront of EV truck innovation, leading ports from around the world to ask local operators how they are achieving that goal.
Industry sources estimate the EV truck market in the U.S. growing to $500 billion by the early 2030s. The medium-sized cargo delivery and vans could grow to $200 billion. Familiar trucking names also are participating in the EV truck gold rush. Freightliner, Kenworth, PACCAR, Peterbilt, Toyota and Volvo all are developing EV models, depending on the truck segment and weight class.
A Port of Long Beach spokesman said the port is considering “putting in more funds and reopening the program next year, and assessing the level at which we would fund the program.” Last month, Cenntro showed off new EV delivery trucks and its first Class 8 drayage truck – called Deepstar — to support the West Coast market.
Co-founders include Phillip Weicker, who serves as Harbinger’s chief technology officer and who formerly had key roles with San Jose-based lithium battery developer QuantumScape and Torrance-based EV carmaker Canoo; and Will Eberts, chief operating officer who worked with Harris at Faraday Future and with Weicker at Canoo.
Privately-held Harbinger Motors, an electric vehicle chassis and axle maker for delivery vehicles that look like Fed-Ex and UPS trucks, employs 250 people in technical, design and engineering jobs at its Knott Avenue plant. It could add another 100 people over the next year. Truck frame rails at Harbinger Motors Inc., a commercial EV truck maker, in Garden Grove on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Harbinger is part of a growing number of commercial EV truck makers building an EV truck infrastructure in Southern California.
The interior of Harbinger Motors Inc., a commercial EV truck maker, in Garden Grove on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Harbinger is part of a growing number of commercial EV truck makers building an EV truck infrastructure in Southern California.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sharp cuts at California State University, but one Southern California campus is feeling it moreAdolfo Guzman-Lopez covers higher education for the LAist and KPCC newsroom.
Read more »
Los Angeles, California job with University of Southern California Center for Craniofacial Molecular BiologyThe Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology (CCMB) of the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of the University of Southern California (USC) is recruiting outstanding candidates for a tenure-track position at the rank of Assistant Professor to conduct cutting-edge research in the areas of cell and developmental biology, tissue regeneration, cell...
Read more »
Southern California residents displaced by wildfires start to return as firefighters continue to battle blazesToday's Video Headlines: 11/8/24
Read more »
Culture wars start to roil elections for Southern California’s community college trusteesIn Southern California, candidates and political action committees are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaigns for community college board seats.
Read more »
NASCAR wants to race again in Southern California, but when will it happen?NASCAR remains dedicated to racing again in Southern California, but it's unclear when a planned, reconfigured race track in Fontana will be ready.
Read more »
Here’s what Southern California radio fans are listening to right nowThe news was big in September.
Read more »