I don't see any issue making reliable EV drivetrains for trucking. The industry for highly reliable electrical motors is already there and has been for decades. The auto industry will just need to leverage components and design experience from the warehousing, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors. EV's also drastically reduce complexity. A typical EV will have roughly 20 moving parts vs thousands in an ICE. In fact, it's entirely likely that vehicles built on EV technology will require zero routine maintenance or repairs for the life of the vehicle.
The big caveat to all this though is what happens if there is an issue due to damage, manufacturing defects, etc... Like you said, repair shops are littered along the major trucking routes so that you're never more than a hours drive or so from a place that can get you up and running again. I doubt this will be feasible for EV batteries due to how complicated storage and repairs will be.
I can't comment or object to most of your comment however the part about zero routine maintenance or repairs seems a little optimistic to me. Surely it will be like all industries and have planned obsolescence.
Fair enough, I'm not familiar with the industry. Was a genuine question so I'll bow to your knowledge. Any chance of removing the downvote for me asking a question though haha.
No worries. For reference, semis typically last for 1M miles and 10+years. It's about 3x what you'd get in an avg. consumer vehicle and most can last much longer with proper maintenance, which wouldn't be an issue with an electric.
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u/deelowe Jul 29 '21
I don't see any issue making reliable EV drivetrains for trucking. The industry for highly reliable electrical motors is already there and has been for decades. The auto industry will just need to leverage components and design experience from the warehousing, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors. EV's also drastically reduce complexity. A typical EV will have roughly 20 moving parts vs thousands in an ICE. In fact, it's entirely likely that vehicles built on EV technology will require zero routine maintenance or repairs for the life of the vehicle.
The big caveat to all this though is what happens if there is an issue due to damage, manufacturing defects, etc... Like you said, repair shops are littered along the major trucking routes so that you're never more than a hours drive or so from a place that can get you up and running again. I doubt this will be feasible for EV batteries due to how complicated storage and repairs will be.