When we spoke with John Harris, the cofounder and CEO of electric truckmaker Harbinger, back in January, we were impressed with his company’s tightly focused business model and cost-saving supply chain strategy. (Read the complete in-depth interview here.)
Now the Harbinger team’s hard work has borne fruit, in the shape of a $300-million order from FedEx for 2,000 electric trucks. This is one of the largest binding orders ever placed for electric medium- or heavy-duty trucks to date, and considered together with recent news from Tesla and Workhorse, it’s a harbinger (see what we did there?) of the end of the Age of Pilots, and the dawn of an era of large-scale electric truck deployments.
The order includes a mix of models from Harbinger’s all-electric vehicle lineup. The company aims to deliver the EVs by the end of 2027. FedEx will deploy them as one-for-one replacements for legacy vehicles in its pickup and delivery operations in the US and Canada. Harbinger’s Canadian dealer, Kaizen Automotive Group, will support the Canadian portion of the deployment.
Harbinger and FedEx have been working together for some time. The delivery giant was a co-leading investor in Harbinger’s $160-million Series C equity raise, and deployed 53 Harbinger trucks, in 2025.
“FedEx is demonstrating that the business case for incorporating electric vehicles into real-world fleet operations at scale makes sense,” said John Harris. “Our previous work together gave FedEx firsthand experience with the performance and economic advantages Harbinger vehicles can deliver.”
“Electrifying a fleet at this scale requires vehicles that can perform the work our robust operations demand while also delivering meaningful economic benefits,” said Paul Melander, Senior VP of Safety and Transportation at FedEx, and a member of Harbinger’s Board of Directors. “Expanding our deployment of Harbinger vehicles gives us an opportunity to continue making progress toward our fleet electrification goals while reducing fuel and operating costs.”
Harbinger estimates that each of its electric trucks will reduce fuel costs by an average of $20,000 annually, compared with the conventional diesel vehicle it replaces. Harbinger’s vehicles are designed and engineered for a service life of 20 years, to match the typical life of class 5 and 6 medium-duty trucks.
In a post announcing the sale, John Harris calculated FedEx’s annual fuel savings in California at around $26,000 per truck.
“This order represents the results of years of methodical investment in electrification at Harbinger, in production capacity, in service network buildout, in supply chain, and more,” said Harris. “It also represents an incredible step forward on electrification by FedEx, with huge upside in fuel cost savings, energy independence and decarbonization. Amazing work by all of my team members at Harbinger to make this possible.”
Source: Harbinger
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