The first thing that hits when you’re behind the wheel of the all-new electric D Wide E-Tech is how quiet the cab is. Shifting out of the Normandy plant where the truck and its fellow electric Ts and Cs are produced, the only sound you can hear is the sound of the power steering. Navigating a route through the local town of Blainville-sur-Orne feels unerring as you stop at a traffic light or junction. There’s no judder or tell-tale diesel rumble. Normally waste runs are clunking stop-start affairs, this on the other hand is, dare T&FME suggests, almost relaxing. Small wonder they put us in a spa the night before the plant visit.
The ride, in short, is impressive. Clearly a test drive can’t replicate the hustle and bustle of a daily waste operation but sneaking up on traffic in what is normally a 16t behemoth is a powerful demonstration of how our cities and communities can be far quieter places to be. Assuming that the infrastructure can be in place to support them.
And it was this point that was returned to over and over again during the visit: if electric trucks are to be adopted quickly then we need to be able to support them with the infrastructure to go with it. This is something Renault Trucks, which boasts the largest fleet of electric trucks on the road in Europe, is keen to address. And partly why it has dropped the ZE moniker in favour of E-Tech.
Indeed, the French manufacturer no longer wants to provide you with merely a truck but everything you need to keep it on the road too. Last month, Renault Trucks unveiled the E-Tech brand and its ambitions in the field of e-mobility with an offer geared towards providing, what it calls, 360° support for its customers. It wants 50% of its sales to be electric by 2030 and, by 2040, 100% of the vehicles sold will be carbon neutral. To put that in context, in 2021, 249 electric trucks were delivered and 613 were ordered.
The electric trucks produced in Normandy represent a tenth of the plant’s 2,000-plus units per year. It is therefore unlikely to be a coincidence that it wants to see 2,000 electric trucks produced instead. Slotting into the current production line, chassis are fitted with the electric drivelines, cooling systems and, of course, batteries, instead of traditional engines, transmissions and fuel tanks. Seeing it in action, it is easy to see how production could be scaled up to add more electric trucks instead of fossil-fuel equivalents.
Although T&FME is told that there is also a need for the auto-cluster and supply chain involved to also be scaled up at the same time. It also needs that transport and logistics industry to follow it into this new era. The entire E-Tech offer is designed to provide comprehensive support for hauliers in their transition to carbon neutrality. As such, Renault Trucks is combining its production of high performance electric vehicles with all-round support for customers.
It wants to guide fleets making their own transition into the roles suitable for heavy e-mobility such as urban deliveries and waste management.
Consequently, it is investing time and resources to bulk-out knowledge at the distribution end of the sales channel and beyond that to monitoring the operations of their electric trucks.
During T&FME’s visit, we were given the overview of how this can work in practice. An initial phase helps customers draw up their decarbonisation plans and analyse and define their needs. It is here that the manufacturer will offer its expertise helping to get the right truck solution for their business and their budget.
Things then get really technical. The second phase of diagnosis involves getting precise knowledge of the customer’s activity, including analysis of the fleet and routes and an analysis of the sites’ electrical facilities. The company explains that this can involve the use of simulation tools to help customers make decisions and monitor their activity, such as a carbon emission reduction simulator and a range simulator.
Following this diagnosis, Renault Trucks provides the customer with a detailed recommendation, which includes a roll-out schedule and a forecast of the reduction in CO2 emissions for the coming years.
Renault Trucks describes itself as becoming the architect of the decarbonisation project and co-builds the new electric mobility ecosystem alongside the customer during the next phase. It will explore financing options for the fleet and any or governmental subsidies that may make the adoption possible. This can go beyond the set-up of the truck, its equipment and bodywork, to the on-site charging facilities needed on site. Even before your new truck is delivered the company is offering to provide its customer with an electric truck, so that it can be tested in real working conditions.
Finally, Renault Trucks will act as the project manager for the customer’s decarbonisation solution: “Installation of on-site charging facilities, training of drivers and fleet administrators, etc. Last but not least, Renault Trucks and its network support customers in the operational monitoring of their fleet, thanks to vehicle connectivity.”
This will involve the manufacturer monitoring the charging facilities, tracking driving and consumption and making suggestions for optimisation, recommending routes, and optimising maintenance operations.
Ultimately, to sell electric trucks, it has recognised that hauliers need practical support in their transition to electric vehicles. It is promising to be at their side in their decarbonisation plans, providing support based on expertise, anticipation, proximity, peace of mind and fast performance.
The unveiling of E-Tech was also an opportunity for the company to expand its all-electric range and from next year two new models of up to 44 tonnes, namely the Renault Trucks T E-Tech for regional transport and the Renault Trucks C E-Tech for construction applications.
Since 2020, the manufacturer has been marketing a range of all-electric trucks from 3.1 to 26 tonnes, manufactured in France – and now feels confident it can support heavier operations when the routes and applications are suitable.
The new models in the heavy-duty range will be fitted with two or three electric motors providing a combined power of up to 490 kW (equivalent to 666 hp). The company has also confirmed that they will be also equipped with an Optidriver gearbox.
The Renault Trucks T and C E-Tech will have two to six lithium-ion battery packs with a capacity of 180 to 540 kWh. The vehicles’ batteries can be fully charged in 9.5 hours by alternating current (AC) up to 43 kW, or in 2.5 hours by direct current (DC) up to 250 kW.
These trucks will be able to travel up to 300 km on a single charge and up to 500 km with a one-hour intermediate fast charge (250 kW).
In order to adapt easily to any type of bodywork and consequently to any type of use, the Renault Trucks T and C E-Tech can be equipped with three types of power take-off (PTO): electric, electromechanical or on the gearbox. In addition to having a gross vehicle weight of 44 tonnes, they will be available in 4×2 and 6×2 tractor versions and 4×2, 6×2 and 8×4 tridem rigids.
